I Have No Gun,but I Can Spit
Some thirty inches from my nose The frontier of my Person goes, And all the untilled air between Is private pagus or demesne. Stranger, unless with bedroom eyes I beckon you to fraternize, Beware of rudely crossing it: I have no gun, but I can spit.
power
isolation
rhymed verse
playful
I Have No Gun,but I Can Spit - meaning Summary
Personal Boundary, Playful Threat
Auden's short lyric sketches the boundary of personal space as a lightly comic, defensive assertion. The speaker defines a narrow "frontier" around the body and warns strangers not to cross it without invitation. The tone mixes ironic formality with intimate candor, turning a small physical distance into a sovereign territory. The final line supplies a playful, nonlethal threat that enforces privacy. It treats social etiquette and consent with wry humor.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.