The apertures of our body are doorways that mediate between outside and inside. We normally think of them as intake points: Light enters our eyes and we see, molecules tickle the sensors in our noses and we smell, mouths and tongues are for tasting and eating.
In the Song, the movement is usually in the opposite direction. Eyes are doves, carrying messages outward. Noses give off fragrance (7:8) and mouths are sweet as if they were sources of wine (7:9). Bodies in the Song do not passively take the world in; the body’s desires act on the world as what’s inside comes out through the doorways.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
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