Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Dorianne Laux’s "Kissing Again" is a celebration of rekindled intimacy, a vivid and sensory exploration of the transformative power of a kiss. Through rich, tactile imagery and a rhythm that mirrors the ebb and flow of passion, Laux elevates the seemingly simple act of kissing into a profound moment of connection and rediscovery.

The poem opens by contrasting the drought of kissing with the everyday pressures that often displace intimacy—"too many kids, bills, windows / needing repair." This imagery is grounded in the mundane, a reflection of how life’s demands often erode the time and space needed for deeper connection. While sex persists, it is depicted as "squeezed in" and "quick, furtive, / like birds." These lines capture a sense of hurried practicality, where physical acts are performed without the full immersion and tenderness that kissing symbolizes.

Kissing, Laux suggests, is more than a precursor to sex or a mere act of affection. It is described as "luxuriant," a gateway to a state of surrender and timelessness. The poem transitions into a sensual catalog of the act itself: "the deft flicking and feral sucking, / that prolonged lapping that makes a smooth stone / of the brain." These lines revel in the physicality of kissing, portraying it as an experience that dissolves thought and anchors the body in pure sensation. The metaphor of the brain becoming a "smooth stone" evokes a meditative calm, a shedding of the mental clutter that kissing momentarily erases.

Laux expands the act of kissing into a larger metaphor for natural and cosmic forces. The body is "tumbled / in sea waves, no up or down, just salt / and the liquid swells set in motion / by the moon." This connection to the rhythms of nature—the tides, the tremors of the earth, even the delicate flutter of a moth wing—imbues kissing with a primal, elemental significance. It is not merely an act between two people but part of a larger, universal dance, as natural and inevitable as the pull of gravity or the orbit of celestial bodies.

The poem’s central praise lies in the “deep lustrous kiss that lasts minutes, / blossoms into what feels like days.” Here, Laux employs lush and expansive imagery: "fields of tulips / glossy with dew," "low purple clouds," and rivers that "grunt and break upon the gorge." The sensory details evoke a world transformed by the kiss, a moment so profound it reshapes time and space. This imagery conveys the immersive nature of true intimacy, where the boundaries between self and other dissolve, and the kiss becomes an all-encompassing experience.

Laux’s diction emphasizes the primal and instinctual nature of kissing. Words like "feral," "grunting," and "primal reminiscence" highlight the raw, unspoken language of the body. Kissing is portrayed as an act of both memory and instinct, connecting the participants to a "robust world" that transcends the complexities of modern life. The mouth, often burdened by "talking," finds its true purpose in the shapes of "give / and receive," a rhythmic exchange that mirrors the reciprocal nature of human connection.

The closing lines emphasize the kiss as a return to an essential, almost Edenic state of being. The "plush swelling" and "slick / round reveling" of the mouth suggest not only pleasure but a deep-seated need for connection and presence. The final phrase, "its primal reminiscence / that knows only the one robust world," encapsulates the poem’s celebration of kissing as an act that reconnects us with our physical selves and the elemental forces that shape our existence.

"Kissing Again" is a tribute to the rediscovery of passion and intimacy within the grind of daily life. Through its sensory-rich language and natural imagery, Laux transforms a simple act into a moment of transcendence and unity. The poem reminds readers of the profound power of touch, the way a single kiss can dissolve the barriers between individuals and anchor them in the shared, vibrant pulse of the world.

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