All things golden

What is golden can hurt the most,
the use of it as punishment most cruel.
Something so small,
does it matter?
As the receiver I assure you,
there is nothing like it.
The sting of it, intoxicating,
it is what you want not to remember.
And yet it is steadily given,
and yet once more comes the pain.
So then if it is described as something beautiful,
as that is what the term golden is used for,
why then is this contradiction,
why then is this irony...