In order to view this poem as the author intended it to appear, we suggest reading it on a computer screen or in the landscape orientation on your phone.

Kissing in the Afternoon
Elaine Handley

Not so many kisses
in the afternoon—are we
too determined to make something
of the day that we forget
kissing is essential, like oxygen,
companionship, electricity?

Why do we abandon the strategy
of skin on skin, the muscular
twitch of the tongue, sweet pluck
of lip on lip, on nape, the jawline,
the tender spot just below
the ear that begs pleasure—
your phosphorescence catching
in my blood and gleaming
through the circuitry of us?

—
Elaine Handley is a published poet and fiction writer who lives in Middle Grove, NY. She is a professor of English at SUNY Empire State College and a three-time winner of the Adirondack Center for Writing Best Book of Poetry. Currently, she is completing a collection of linked short stories, The Season of Angry Wives, and a poetry collection entitled Heartbreak Grass. Her most recent publication is Securing the Perimeter, a poetry chapbook, published by Clare Songbird Publishing House.

Know anyone who might appreciate reading Elaine’s poem?
Why not share the link to this page?

Have you read these poems:
Toddler at Grandma’s by Zack Rogow
Invited to Linger by Carole Mertz

Table of Contents