A kiss can be as pure, as chaste, As dew upon a rose; A kiss can be impure, profane, As sin from Hell that flows. A mother's kiss on baby's cheek Is pure as Heaven's dew; The kiss that Judas gave his Lord All time cannot undo. The spirit of adventure oft Doth urge us forth to roam Into the great unknown, beyond The sanctity of home, To seek the bliss of stolen sweets— Elusive evermore; 'Tis with a kiss that Satan charms, Now, as in days of yore. And as we seek we often find A bee within a rose, A thorn that pierces when the hand Is just about to close; And when a lily seems so pure That Heaven stands revealed, Within its lovely purity A worm is oft concealed. What is more sacred than a kiss When love is felt between, And lips are clinging, lingering A moment there unseen! While rich perfume the senses sway From violet and rose, The heart responds in ecstacy As surging life blood flows. Love's kisses are a memory— A night, a day, an hour; They live forever in the heart As fragrant as a flower. And as a summer dream of love That haunts the soul for aye, With magic sweet and tremulous They pass forever by. Pure as a dewdrop on a rose, Or in a lily's cup, A lustrous pearl from out the sea, A teardrop welling up To glisten on a maiden's cheek, A diamond drop of love— The nectar of the gods that flows From Heaven's founts above. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GOOD FRIDAY HYMN by GEORGE SANTAYANA UNWELCOME by MARY ELIZABETH COLERIDGE AMERICA by ARTHUR CLEVELAND COXE TO SIR HENRY CARY by BEN JONSON INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF MY UNCLE ARLY by EDWARD LEAR THE EARL O' QUARTERDECK by GEORGE MACDONALD HOW THE CUMBERLAND WENT DOWN [MARCH 8, 1862] by SILAS WEIR MITCHELL |