How did this willful weird behavior start?
Who first thought of it, evoked her partner’s
Widened eyes, then upped the ante, darting
Sharp reptilian tongue, whetting ardor?
And did her partner burn or flush or stare,
Confused, wondering, ‘why did she do that?’
Is kissing (some suggest) the suckling’s prayer
(Lustily grown up) for that nippled vat’s
Warm milk? Now there’s a stretch: how does food morph
Into arousal? Or (as others think)
A public health device—a minute quaff—
To taste one’s mate at copulation’s brink.
Yes! Oh yes! for sweet!—sour?— pushed away!
Ancient lab test—the first genetic screen?
And, if so, how explain the wide array
Of kisses—cheek, neck, air—that vast cuisine?
Whence kissing sprang may still remain unknown—
And yet provoked Lou’s raspy voice to song—
Invoking hearts, devouring neural scones—
Yearning for “a kiss to build a dream on.”
(8/30/08)