Kissing

A kiss is something you cannot
give without taking and cannot
take without giving.
-Anonymous-

You may conquer with the sword,
but you are conquered by a kiss.
-Daniel Heinsius (1580-1655)-

The decision to kiss for the first time is the
most crucial in any love story. It changes the
relationship of two people much more strongly
than even the final surrender; because this kiss
already has within it that surrender.
-Emil Ludwig (1881-1948)-

That farewell kiss which resembles greeting,
that last glance of love which becomes
the sharpest pang of sorrow.
-George Eliot [Mary Ann Evans] (1819-1880)-

The moment eternal - just that and no more -
When ecstasy's utmost we clutch at the core
While cheeks burn, arms open, eyes shut, and lips meet!
-Robert Browning (1812-1889)-

There is the kiss of welcome and
of parting, the long, lingering, loving,
present one; the stolen, or the mutual one;
the kiss of love, of joy, and of sorrow;
the seal of promise and receipt of fulfillment.
-Thomas C. Haliburotn (1796-1865)-

The sunlight claps the earth
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What are all these kissings worth
If thou kiss not me?
-Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)-

...then I did the simplest thing in the world.
I leaned down... and kissed him.
And the world cracked open.
-Agnes de Mille, b. 1905-

All taken from The Kiss
A romantic treasury of photographs and quotes