No Groove in the Gunsights by Lars Kullberg

No Groove in the Gunsights

Always under the thumb of his dark mistress, the speaker struggles

beneath her power. Try as he may, he will never be able to break the tie of

lust between the two. His threats are not threatening to her, and he knows this.

His power is beneath her's, and he knows this as well. By threatening his

lover in the 140th sonnet, the speaker is merely admitting to his own

helplessness to which he is forever bound.

This appears to be the first sonnet in which he is taking a stand.

Never before has he spoken in such a threatening tone: "Be wise…do not press/My

tongue tied patience…" (140. 1-2). One might think that he is now revealing for

the first time his yet unheard of power.

But he has no such power. He knows that his threats do not frighten her…

so why does he even bother? Sure, he could untie his tongue and let the world

know of her habits. However, no one would care. She is a dark lady—she and

others like her are meant to be that way. He would only be telling what is

already known. However, what she has to tell of him is not already known.

Being a married man, he is not expected to have a mistress.

She is his only mistress. They both know this as well. If he were to

lose her, he would have nothing left. She knows his lust for her—his need for

her. She knows he lives for her darkness and for the pleasure he finds in her…

temporary as it may be. Temporary yet lasting. There may be times when he

thinks he can live without her, but the time comes again soon when he feels the

familiar lust again. It is the lack of love which makes it temporary. However,

it is the abundance of lust which makes it permanent.

He is only one of her many lovers. If she were to loose him, she would

still have many others to satisfy her. She takes comfort in the fact that he

needs her and he remains under her thumb to almost any extent. The speaker

knows she has many lovers. He claims to hate her unfaithfulness, but in fact he

likes it. He likes the fact that she is nothing more than an object of sex…of

temporary pleasure. If she were really in love with him and were truly faithful,

he would be less attracted to her. The passion and the lust would be gone.

So the question remains—why does he bother with these empty threats?