Kiss

What is it about a kiss?

It is an act that is so natural, so instinctive, that we often do it without even realizing it. A quick peck on the cheek to greet a friend. A mother softly pressing her lips against her infant child's forehead. A lover tenderly kissing the back of his boyfriend's neck as they cuddle together and drift off to sleep.

But within this simple act lies a depth of meaning that surpasses almost any other. Before a child can create a sentence, he can communicate his love for his parents better than any poet could. Indeed, we all are more eloquent with our lips when we form a kiss than we will ever hope to be when we form mere words.



A kiss is poetry. It is song. It is dance, orchestration, and art. It raises the most awkward dullard to Shakespearean heights when he speaks directly to his lover's soul through that magical transference that can pass only by the touch of his lips.

A kiss puts to silence the cynic. It mocks the arguments of the skeptic and lays bare the emptiness of the scoffer. No word spoken, its voice can be heard without confusion or opacity. It says...

I am yours til death parts us. ~

I forgive you. ~

You are my strength when I have none. ~

You are my most valued treasure. ~

I love you alone and forever.

Never be critical of young love. As two idealistic youths feel that stirring of passion from within, smile with them when they cannot hold back any longer and they embrace, oblivious of anything but one another. And then hold on to a bit of that passion and take it back to the one you love. Because a kiss, whether it is the first nervous touch of new love or an aged, long-since-uncounted embrace of a life partner, never loses its power or meaning if it comes from a heart given to another without restraint or reserve.

For poetry that will put my words into the shadows....