A Valentine for Katherine

We have kissed in the 21st century only

Give me your ancien régime kisses

And the kisses you nuzzled into the manes

Of your horses and the one kiss

You shared with a woman in London

And your first kiss and your French kiss

And your vegetarian kiss

Give me your omnivore kisses

Your burned-at-the-stake kisses

Your cradle-of-civilization kisses

Divorce me with your kisses

And I want your screen test kiss

All of your wedding day kisses

Your hospital gown kisses

And your primeval forest kisses

And the stars that were born

In the wake of your kisses and

The moor that we crossed in the fog

Of your kisses and the moss that grew

In the mist of your kisses give me them all

The Mesopotamian as well as the Babylonian

And all the Ashkenazi of your kisses

The wild horses of your kisses

And the kiss that you buried in a page

Of Colette

I will be the Boswell of your kisses

And the diary of your kisses

I will be a pâtisserie of your kisses

And you are like the moon

You control the tide of my blood