Slave to the subordinate clause

Tying his laces again, the subordinate slave
struggled to his feet and sighed deeply.
The group had moved ahead in the limestone cave
and he was left to carry the vowels and paragraphs,
the consonants, commas and word play.
One ticklish little fella would not stay put -
he whispered rhymes and jokes to our servant,
making him snicker as he made his way.

In the darkness, an echoing drip broke the grave
silence and encouraged alertness in the travellers.
Lacking their language, the main party stopped
and waited for the laden assistant to arrive.
Then, helping themselves to vocabulary and metre,
they gaily lavished luxurious affection on each other,
including even the subordinate slave in their attentions.