Kiss (Retired)

A kiss -- that gentle pressing of lips against a person or object -- has many cultural connotations, including friendship, religious devotion, peace, respect, affection, or passion as in romantic love. The poet Johan Runeberg wrote that “the angels rejoice over the first kiss exchanged by lovers.” He added that a kiss of love “carries with it, even bestows, the gift of eternal youth”. Kissing is described in the poetry of ancient Egypt, in the oldest Sanskrit scriptures, and in the Bible. Folktales tell of the power of a kiss to break a curse or spell. In the Middle Ages, knights would reconcile and treaties would be sealed with a kiss of peace. But, perhaps, young Daphnis said it best (in the ancient Greek story) after he kissed the lovely Chloe: “...Her lips are softer than the rose, her mouth is sweet as honey, and her kiss inflicts on me more pain than a bee’s sting. My pulse is beating fast, my heart throbs, it is as if I were about to suffocate; yet, I want another kiss.” The