The Kiss (1907) is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. The Kiss depicts an embracing couple kneeling in a grassy patch of wildflowers. As she wraps her arms around her partner’s neck, her eyes are peacefully closed, emphasizing the tranquility and intimacy of the scene.
Crowds milled about
Docent played the guard dog
And there it hung – Oil on Canvas
With layerings of gold
Embracing couple in a grassy patch
Wildflowers scattered around
She wrapped her arms around his neck
Eyes peacefully closed
Artist had painted with brush and paint
Couple struck a pose to feel the work
Visitor focused his lens at them
Artist worked the perfect image
Couple made corrections to mimic the art
Visitor narrowed his focus
There was painting, pose and photo
Images drawn from their particular gaze
Aestheticist, lover, and voyeur
For they drew their pleasure from different sources
The visual aesthetic
The body and human connection
The kinky and dark places
And they were in a different relationship to the scene
World and all of time
Relationship while it lasted
Fleeting self
Artist had risked it all
No stable job or income
Marginalized for his errant ways
Scorned by peers
Couple held each other with insecurity
Last embrace?
Last touch?
Last kiss?
Visitor seemingly knew only safety
A lustful gaze went unnoticed
Only he, felt the the rise in his pants
Or knew his thoughts of possession
For the voyeur was afraid
Afraid of love
Afraid to hold
Afraid of all the stories that might unfold
Those joys and pain lay in the body and the heart
Not in a distant gaze
Or in a measly rise
The feelings of life pulsing in one’s veins
