Author	Thread: hearts & fleas
Admin	hearts & fleas Posted : 7 Nov, 2010 03:28 PM For some strange, unknown reason, John Donne's poem "The Flea" has been stuck in my head all afternoon. I was going to post it here for reference, but it could possibly be inappropriate and pretty much everyone is already familiar with it, I suppose, since English teachers/professors seem to have a special fondness for basing lessons from it. But anyway, I was just thinking about how the poem's narrator is being so pushy with his girlfriend. And he's pushing her for physical intimacy, but I was thinking more in terms of emotional and/or spiritual intimacy. From that perspective, I kind of get where the guy is coming from. We only have his words and don't know anything really of the girl he's speaking to... But, it seems like she's maybe being reticent in ways other than just with the physical aspect of things. Anytime I've read the poem, I get this feeling that she's overly guarded and that she's not willing to give anything of herself. And the narrator's frustration seems to stem, in part, from a belief that the relationship isn't going anywhere at all, not just that it isn't leading into something sexual. So, in doing all of this thinking (and sorry -- that was probably way too much context for what my question(s) actually is here), I was wondering how far is appropriate to push someone for emotional/spiritual intimacy. If someone is super guarded with her (or his) heart and doesn't seem to naturally really open up at any point, do you push, or do you just break up? And what kind of timetable is all of that on? Post Reply
View Profile History	hearts & fleas Posted : 7 Nov, 2010 04:50 PM I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgement. He was going down the street near her corner, Walking along in the direction of her house, at twilight as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. Then out came a woman who to meet him dressed like a prostitute and with [A GUARDED HEART] Proverbs 7:7-10 Post Reply
GraceMae View Profile History	hearts & fleas Posted : 7 Nov, 2010 10:00 PM Pixy... why don't you post "the poem" . I think not everyone is familiar with it...Put it out here and lets see... ~ GraceMae Post Reply
Tulip89 View Profile History	hearts & fleas Posted : 7 Nov, 2010 10:04 PM copy and paste this:http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/flea.php Post Reply
SilverFire View Profile History	hearts & fleas Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 03:51 PM There's something to be said for the mystery of women in that they do keep some things hidden; there is a delight in discovery as well, but if learning about the other person habitually onerous -- like a long dig through rock -- the delight of the chase evaporates. It is then that the relationship is in trouble. I don't know if there is a strict timetable, but what is important I think, is the sense of progress. If you can feel your relationship deepening with the other person, then that's what counts. After all, relationships are growing, organic things. Reading the poem, I get the feeling that the narrator was hot-heated and intemperate. Whatever he wished would have in some way impugned the girl's honor -- or at least she thought that. Whether that was something physical or even something as simple as her address (so that he could call on her someday), is vague. But it is possible, as well, that she simply found it dishonoring to share too much too soon. Post Reply
View Profile History	hearts & fleas Posted : 10 Nov, 2010 09:33 AM @ silver your first paragraph excatly describes why I am not with my last girl friend ....and she was hot! Note to women : you might catch a man with your looks but......... it takes more than looks to keep a man Post Reply
View Profile History	hearts & fleas Posted : 10 Nov, 2010 04:51 PM I didn't post the poem because I felt that it might be inappropriate and I'm tired of being slammed and getting hate mail for what many people consider to be inappropriate content. But anyway, my question has been answered adequately. Post Reply
View Profile History	hearts & fleas Posted : 13 Nov, 2010 05:33 PM I think in many respects life is like a flea. Once you get bit by it, it seems you have this never ending itch to scratch. As a child my parents kept me free from fleas, or if one were to bite me, at the first sign of an itch, they put medicine on it to save me from the incessant scratching that follows the bite. However as we mature some of the flea bites we get, we ignore. Some recognize they have been bit, but choose to do nothing about them. Some go in deliberation looking for a dog, knowing the dog has fleas. Seemingly, none of those actions taken make any sense, especially the ladder. Does it not make sense that we should avoid fleas completely, thus the itch, and the incessant need to scratch to make ourselves feel better? Yet, somehow for many people, they need to itch, want to itch, live to itch. Why � So they can get scratched! Are we all not here on this dating site, and others like it, Christian or non, looking to have our �itch� scratched? Most are obviously tired of scratching their own itches, or they would not be so compelled. Indeed, one of the greatest joys in the life of mans best friend is getting scratched behind the ears. I suppose then, this question arises � Is it ok to itch, and seek another to scratch that itch for you, because you know you could never satisfy that itch yourself, no matter how hard you scratched? Sometimes it is the tiniest things in life that lead to our greatest pleasures and greatest horrors. Intimacy, or the road that leads to it, often sucks. But I suppose it is in how you define �sucks� that makes all the difference. Post Reply