116. To His Mistress, Objecting to Him
You say I love not, 'cause I do not play
Still with your curls, and kiss the time away.
You blame me, too, because I can't devise
Some sport, to please those babies in your eyes;
By Love's religion, I must here confess it,
The most I love, when I the least express it.
Shall griefs find tongues; full casks are ever found
To give, if any, yet but little sound.
Deep waters noiseless are; and this we know,
That chiding streams betray small depth below.
So when love speechless is, she doth express
A depth in love, and that depth bottomless.
Now, since my love is tongueless, know me such,
Who speak but little, 'cause I love so much.
"To his Mistress, objecting to him" notes
So guys have always been this way. Notice how he explains his inattention
to her by claiming that his love is too deep to express. Like the
old farmer who loved his wife so much that it was all he could do to keep
from telling her.
But how did guys ignore their girlfriends before television?