Imagine if Kisses Weren't Real

Imagine if Kisses Weren't Real

Imagine if kisses weren’t real.
Imagine if lips didn’t meet.
If you didn’t feel the tenderness
or the passion or softness
or hardness of the mouth.
What if kisses went untasted? 

Imagine if the kiss never existed.
Not a peck on the cheek
from an elderly aunt,
a kiss on the forehead
when you were a child.
What if your first kiss never happened?
What would the bride and groom do
after saying their vows?
Would Snow White still be sleeping?
How would you say goodbye? 

What if kisses were forbidden?
Lips would feel empty,
mouths would turn down.
Tongues would never
have a chance to meet.
Hearts wouldn’t race.
How would passion begin? 

But we do kiss.
We are lucky, blessed even,
that somewhere, at sometime
two people were drawn to each other’s lips.
Were they tentative at first,
frightened even,
at the thought of sharing breath,
at the thought of being drawn
to something that beforehand
had only been useful for forming words? 

I, for one, am thankful
that they took the chance,
that their lips met,
and they were stirred
throughout their bodies.
I am thankful their toes tingled
and their hearts raced,
and they told their friends
and the kiss became popular.
I, for one, am a big fan of the kiss. 

Author: Melanie Civin Kenion

Photo: Zelle Duda on Unsplash