The Kiss: Even all those years ago

The Kiss

Even all those years ago
I can still remember
Exactly how I felt
As my father lifted me
Above that open
Wooden box.


I have an image
Imprinted
Of the face that greeted me:
Wan and wax like
Lying there motionless
As if it were part
Of an adult game.

There in a drawn-curtained room,
I can still feel the hand
That pushed my head down
And ordered me to kiss
The expressionless face
Of a man...

Who in the half dark
Looked a bit like
My Grandfather.

Ian Bowen