John Donne - The Flea Marke but this flea, and marke in this, How little that which

thou denyst me is; Me it suckd first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea, our two bloods mingled bee; Confesse it, this cannot be said A sinne, or shame, or losse of maidenhead, Yet this enjoyes before it wooe, And pamperd swells with one blood made of two, And this, alas, is more than wee would doe. Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare, When wee almost, nay more than maryed are: This flea is you and I, and this Our mariage bed, and mariage temple is; Though parents grudge, and you, ware met, And cloysterd in these living walls of Jet. Though use make thee apt to kill mee, Let not to this, selfe murder added bee, And sacrilege, three sinnes in killing three. Cruell and sodaine, has thou since Purpled thy naile, in blood of innocence? In what could this flea guilty bee, Except in that drop which it suckt from thee? Yet thou triumphst, and saist that thou Findst not thy selfe, nor mee the weaker now; Tis true, then learne how false, feares bee; Just so much honor, when thou yeeldst to mee, Will wast, as this fleas death tooke life from thee.
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Marke (l. 1): observe, notice. thou (l. 2): you (archaic, especially in biblical, ecclesiastical, solemn, or poetic language); it was used

in early modern English at least into the 17th century as the appropriate form of address to an intimate friend or a person of lower social status than the speaker. deny'st (l. 2): past second-person singular of deny. thee (l. 3): objective case of thou. said (l. 5): called. loss of maidenhead (l. 6): loss of virginity; the maidenhead is the hymen. Yet this enjoys before it woo (l. 7): the flea enjoys this liberty without the effort of wooing the lady. stay (l. 10): stop; don't kill the flea. Jet (l. 15): a glossy black stone; this is a reference to the colour of a flea. use (l. 16): custom. sodaine (l. 19): violent, sudden. thy (l. 20): your yeeldst (l. 26): past 2nd person of yield.