Rationale for a Kiss

by Richard Taylor

Kisses are the buttons
on love’s coat whenever
a winter comes sudden
or stays late.

The snug lumens
of the universe tell us so,
the planets that button up
a moonless night when a chill wind
scours the scarred earth,

and someone caring
that we be warm kisses us,
several times in a row
like a coat’s buttons, and if not
by invitation earned, then courtesy,
wisdom learned,

for if you are cold,
then I am dumb.