Kiss

Painting: Marc Chagall: The Birthday

Reverend Skeat, etymologist, sometimes undermines the feeling that one has for a word; 'a salute with the lips' is sweet, but 'A kiss is a gust or taste, or something choice' is not so poetic.
It is not his intention to bring us poetry here, only the historic journey.
Kiss being a word that happens close, that puts two figures into one personal sphere, to think of it dispassionately seems inappropriate.
The journey of language is bound up with the human journey: the historic spread of this tribe and that: the individual stumble and stride.
The need to communicate, for practical terms of trade, for spiritual terms of connection, is a sort of fundamentalism that allows an open mind.
Etymology, a word that travels from the Greek expressions; true, account, to speak; is a study in connection; the connective spheres between languages; words on lips exchanged, not unlike the press of a kiss.

The earth as viewed from an orbiting satellite
Rev. Skeat's tracing of the word 'Kiss'

Comments

Sue McPeak said…
Salute with the lips...I get...not so much gust or taste, however, the journey toward the kiss as you described it, kinda explains the spinning sphere and shooting stars effect of KISSING. Congrats on making it through Week #2. Thanks for your visits and comments on my AtoZ 'fiction from forgotten fotos'.
Sue at CollectInTexas Gal
12 April 2014 at 12:55
Unknown said…
Hi there - I like this post. Good luck on the rest of the A - Z Challenge. :)
12 April 2014 at 13:46
Suze said…
Gust makes me think of 'gusto,' the Spanish word for savoring. :)
12 April 2014 at 20:36
Mary Mary said…
This was very interesting. I've never thought a lot about a kiss, but this is definitely an interesting way of breaking it down. Good choice for your "K"!
13 April 2014 at 23:04
Lisa Southard said…
Thank you all, lovely ladies! Week two of the A-Z has flown by, probably because I have picked a very easy approach. And I'm having fun with it- a very good balance to the more involved world of The Novel (penultimate chapter in production...)
14 April 2014 at 09:38
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beginnings, Halloween 2022

Image
Today I was stuck, briefly, in traffic. Gulls were keening, a sound that goes into my soul in a good way. When did I last sit to listen to the gulls? I've been busy with good things but oh my! I am tired. I knew that I was tired this time, I have been taking more breaks, resting up, allowing myself to miss our Dog, and clearly, I had better keep doing this. I always think a quick respite will do; sometimes one needs a stretch of rest. I keep writing. Writing can be done in gentle accruals and then becomes an activity that can feed me back. I did not write a Halloween story though, not even a comforting one, instead, I am keeping the tradition of sharing some writing with you, Dear Readers. Below are two extracts from the peripherals of the novel I am slowly completing; the first is a prequel that I wrote for my own guidance so probably will not be included in the final edit, the second is an attempt at describing the story, which will probably be rewritten over and over until the
Read more

The Never-Ending Shed Story: Part Two

Image
Day 8: We waited for cooler hours before loading up the van, intent on finishing the shed build. The Shed Saga finale! We were optimistically wrong, of course, though the roof felt was tacked down, and both the fascia and the perched diamond of finial were drilled in. The field grass was looking parched, it was the colour of wheat biscuits. Crickets chirped- they always sound merry. We were hot and sticky like two marinated chunks. ‘It looks like a shed,’ we observed, surprised. ‘We should get the doors hinged!’ But our stomachs were growling and we were clumsy-tired. The doors would have to be another adventure. Meanwhile, it was time for cooking burgers in the van, for getting our stable sofa bed ready for a well-earned sleep, for setting up one table and two chairs under the sweep of the ash tree, looking down across the lower field as the sun dipped behind us and the nearly-full pink-faced moon rose up from the tree line on the opposite hill. We fetched out our reclining chairs, im
Read more

Back From The Future Blog Party

Image
Another joint blog adventure- if you want to see who else said what the list of participants is here . The premise is this: 'You're up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. You haven't brewed your coffee so you wonder if you imagined the sound. Plonking the half-filled carafe in the sink, you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As you cast your eyes to the ground, you see a parcel addressed to you ... from you. You scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, you pry it open. Inside is a shoebox -- sent from ten years in the future -- and it's filled with items you have sent yourself. What's in it?' Here's how I imagined it: Before dawn? Shadows outside, first forming. Sleep has gone, I don't know where. Coffee I can find. All the way from Machu Pichu, this fair-traded pack. Scissors are in the drawer, which
Read more