A Kiss is Just a Kiss

Remember these lyrics from the 1942 movie Casablanca?

You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.

I saw the movie recently on HBO or some other movie rerun channel and listened once again to one of my favorite romantic melodies.

But this time around, I thought about the lyrics from another angle. It dawned on me that a kiss isn't just a kiss.

Every kiss is unique. There are kisses that presage passionate sex, deep and demanding.

There are duty kisses, you know the ones I'm talking about, the kiss at the door after a date you didn't want to go on anyway.

There are tentative kisses, exploratory, halting, interrupted as you fall back and ask, "Is that what kissing is all about? Hmmm. Not bad."

And then, there is the kiss of love and romance. Here is a passage from a story describing the sweetest kiss of all. Let me set the scene.

Cowboys and cowgirls are gathered around a Dutch oven near a trailer parked on the grounds of a rodeo. All of them are rodeo participant except the main character, Roy Magothy, a friendly deputy sheriff who has decided to tutor the rough bill riders on romance.

***

One of the cowboys says, “Well, kiss the girl, Roy. That’s the only reason you’re here.”

Another one says, “This is a public place, Dave. Roy’s too polite for that.”

Everyone laughs except Argie. She knows her face is warm and red.

Roy says, “Well, now, boys, and you young ladies, too, a decent Arizona boy doesn’t just crudely grab a girl. At least not in the presence of the young lady’s mother.” He nods politely to Argie’s mother.

“Give us the benefit of your sophisticated experience, Roy,” Jake says.

“Tell us about it, Roy,” a bull rider says through muffled laughs.

Looking at Argie’s mother again, Roy says, “With your permission, Ma’am, I’ll instruct these untutored boys in the ways of true love. If I offend or embarrass you, I apologize in advance so that I can continue without interruption until my lesson is complete.”

“Go ahead, deputy, I’ve heard them all, but I’d like to hear yours, too.”

Roy smiles at the older woman. “First of all, ma’am, I don’t want to slander these fine but misguided Arizona boys. I’ve known most of these uncivilized and untutored riders all of my life. They’re merely rough and uncouth. The only thing they’ve ever kissed is a horse. I’ve even arrested a couple for sheer foolishness, but they were so pathetic, I let them go. They are good boys suitable for marriage under most circumstances, but they need guidance.”

“Well, get on with it, Roy,” Jake says. Maybe I’ll learn something myself."

Roy begins slowly. “First of all, boys, and you maidens, too, true Arizona romance is about anticipation. When that first kiss happens, it has to be the most natural and gentle kiss in the world. Remember, a kiss of real love isn’t a lip-grinding exercise. It isn’t a race to see if you can reach your partner’s tonsils first.”

Jake collapses in uncontrollable laughter. “Where have I heard this?”

Roy goes on. “A true-love kiss is silent and very soft, a gentle touch. Remember the old Arizona adage that I am making up as I go along: A kiss is in the lips, the pleasure of a kiss is in the brain.”

One of the girls pretends to swoon. “You tell them, deputy.”

Roy smiles. His voice becomes softer. “Think of a kiss like this. Imagine a single rose petal falling softly across your lips, so softly that at first you don’t even know it’s there.”

A bronc rider rubs his lip with a rope-roughened finger. “Yeah, I can feel it now.”

Roy continues with a voice filled with barely-controlled passion. “Deep in your brain, where emotions reside, feel the weightlessness of the rose petal. Now hold that sensation. Soon, the petal becomes warm then hot, like fire. But it doesn’t burn. It is so exquisitely beautiful that you can’t describe it.”

Roy pauses.

“That’s so heartfelt, deputy,” a girl sighs.

“But that isn’t the end. It’s only the beginning. Soon, you begin to phase out everything. Lights dim, sound becomes muted. Suddenly, the world around you is black and silent. Nothing exists but you and the rose petal. You’re in a trance, no sensation but the rose on your lips.” Roy looks at the sky as if in a dreamy trance.

“Look at me,” a cowboy hollers rolling his eyes. “I’m numb.”

“Still,” Roy says, “The kiss continues. Think about remaining in that trance forever. Nothing exists but your lips and your partner’s lips, touching like the touch of a rose petal. Imagine the taste of that rose petal. It is exquisite, like nothing else on earth.”

Roy glances around. The girls look at him with rapt attention waiting for him to continue. Even the cowboys seem subdued.

Argie’s face is a flaming red. His words have caught her off guard. Where did this ignoramus find such emotion?

Roy looks at the older woman and smiles. She has a mischievous grin and humor in her eyes.

She says, “God, deputy, where did you get the poetry in your soul?”

“I read it in a Superman comic Jake gave me, Ma’am, when I was ten years old.”

***

Remember this. A kiss isn't just a kiss. Each kiss is unique. You recall the most exquisite kiss of your life, don't you? Relive that kiss and I believe you will agree with me.