So what about it?
Would you dare?
How about that person on the street,
lost in their tunes. Maybe that old lady
mincing her way to market. Or the kid
with dreads and attitude. Maybe
the buttoned-up businessman.
Would his tie go askew with a kiss?
Would the world shimmy sideways?
Some folks are comfortable with kissing.
You can tell. Their mouths are set
just off-center. Not a smirk exactly,
but like they’ve got a secret (and probably
a past).
Those aren’t the ones who need a kiss.
It’s the mouths set in a grim line,
the guarded eyes with a beaten dog
behind them, the ones with clenched fists
and stiff walks, the furtive ones with a coat
hiding their soul.
Go on.
Walk up as if to pass, then wham!
Lay one on them. Full on the lips.
Then skip away quick, turn back
to grin, to see the jolt, the slow smile,
the sudden allegiance to the human race.
– Sarah Russell
For dVerse’s prompt “Magic“
Photo source
Sarah Russell Poetry 
Oh this is so playful and naughty and deliciously magical…I want to live in this world.
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Thanks, Paul. Me too!
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Ha.. I can truly imagine what would happen… I think I will go around with a grumpy expression waiting for such magic.
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Aw, Bjorn, I thought you’d be on the front lines — the Kisser, not the Kissee.
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How observant and mischievous your inner thoughts – this was a delight from start to finish x
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Thanks, Laura. On Bored Panda I saw a piece on a photographer who took pictures of strangers, then kissed them, then took their pictures again. What a difference! That is what inspired me.
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Those who can’t see the magical in the everyday probably need that kiss.
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Yup, Frank. I agree.
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I love your idea of spreading magic Sarah, so many people probably need a hug too ;o) xxx
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I think a hug would be equally as astonishing to most people, Xenia. Too little of that in this world.
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That would be magic for sure! You are right, they need a kiss!
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Thanks, Annell. I think probably we all do!
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Hmm. Not sure I would want to be kiss-bombed…what about a nice smile instead? Having said that, I enjoyed your poem, bouncy and irreverent.
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A hug maybe??
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Maybe…oh, go on, then…
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I doff my chapeau at this kissing poem. Funny, you have described my mouth to a tee…off center and not quite a smirk. Years ago in university, I lived in a house of gay men. I learned about social and stranger kissing. I fell in love with it. I won’t kiss on the mouth but I will kiss on the cheek or the top of the forehead of they are bedridden. I like your poem to kissing. Kissing is magic.
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Ah yes, gay men are The Best at social and stranger kissing. And yes, I agree, Toni. Kissing is magic!
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How delightful to think about. However, in today’s climate, I’d probably be thrown in the clink for sexual harassment! I have to say, though, that when my dentist (who is retiring) gave me a hug and a kiss today, I left smiling smugly.
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Yup, it can work sometimes. Wish the world were a little less litigious…
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Oh, man. I love this, Sarah.
“Would the world shimmy sideways?” — I truly think it NEEDS to, often.
“Their mouths are set
just off-center.” — I think this just might be me. 😉
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Thanks, De. I hope a lot of mouths are a little off center! :-j Hmmm. That’s the closest I can get to off center on an emoticon, I think. But it has a built-in beauty mark!
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Kissing can be an art form, or just grunting & sucking face. A kiss has always been spiritual with me, more than foreplay, the fleshy foyer doors leading to the love nest, to the heart strings. But your fun use of kissing intrigues & delights me.
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When I looked at these pictures on Bored Panda, I knew there was a poem in there as well. http://www.boredpanda.com/?s=Photos+before+and+after+kissing Kissing seems to bring out the human in the being.
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This poem should be a government manifesto, Sarah! It reminds me of the Joni Mitchell song, ‘In France They Kiss on Main Street’:
‘Young love was kissing under bridges
Kissing in cars kissing in cafes
And we were walking down Main Street
Kisses like bright flags hung on holidays’.
My favourite lines are:
‘Would his tie go askew with a kiss?
Would the world shimmy sideways?’
and
‘You can tell. Their mouths are set
just off-center. Not a smirk exactly,
but like they’ve got a secret, and probably
a past’.
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Oh Kim, I don’t know that song. Running right over to You Tube to hear it. Yes, they do that in France. (And it could be part of their constitution.) One of my most awkward lessons there was learning the two cheek greeting kiss that everyone does. My nose got in the way all the time!
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🙂
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These lyrics are why strangers need kisses.
“They don’t take chances
They seem so removed from romance”
“They’ve been broken in churches and schools
And molded to middle class circumstance”
Thanks again for the song, Kim!
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You’re more than welcome, Sarah.
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Oh my….I’m not even good at people being too close…
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I’m like that too, Alison. You and I have to take the initiative, I guess, throw off the distance cloak and be the kisser, not the kissee!
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Oh that last line was powerful !
I fear for the future of society….more technology, less human contact.
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Thanks, Mish. I think that may have been in the back of my mind when I wrote it. I think there are people texting and walking that might not even break stride for a kiss! More’s the pity. I probably should have included a tester in the poem. Rewrite time…
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Fantastic! I’ve definitely daydreamed about what would happen if I did random stuff like this (before I was married and it would be more naughty than funny) but what a fun depiction of the recipient’s surprise and “the sudden allegiance to the human race.” Very well put.
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Thanks, Sarah. I think in reality all I could really do is photo bomb someone, but it is fun to think about. I’d love to tilt the world on its axis now and then just to make folks lighten up a little.
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Love the playfulness in this.
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Thanks. It was really fun to write thinking about all the people you could shock with a foray of kisses.
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Love your character descriptions in this, can picture that busy street and all those tense and grumpy people in need of a kiss!!
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Thanks, Katie. It was fun to write!
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That’s mischevious and innocent too…. spreading magic…!!
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I think it would. Thanks for reading, Sreeja.
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