Some Kiss We Want

Some Kiss We Want

By Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi

Translated by Coleman Barks

There is some kiss we want
with our whole lives
a touch of Spirit on the body

Seawater begs the pearl
to break its shell.

And the lily, how passionately
it needs some wild Darling!

At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face into mine.
Breathe into me.

Close the language-door,
and open the love-window.

The moon won’t use the door,
only the window.

Summary of Some Kiss We Want

• Popularity of “Some Kiss We Want”: The poem ‘Some Kiss We Want’ was written by Maulana Rumi, a classical Persian mystic, poet, and spiritualist. It is an interesting piece of love poetry from his book, The Book of Love, translated by Coleman Barks. The poem’s popularity as a translated work from Persian literature stems from its subtle expression of love and presentation of luxuriousness. The exceptional quality of this is evident in its images that illustrate the richness of love.
• “Some Kiss We Want” As a Representative of Love: Rumi opens the poem with a declarative statement that a human being vies for the entire life to have a physical union with someone and yet it is not fulfilled. It is comparable to the seawater’s request for the pearl to break its shell and reveal its beauty. Similarly, a lily flower strives to obtain a lover. These things show that everything in nature wants to have some physical union or some show of love. The poet, after having seen or observed this, states that he wants to meet with the moon on a moonlit night and adds that he should keep his mouth shut and love things. The reason is that he could meet the moon through the window and not the door of language.
• Major Themes in “Some Kiss We Want”: Love, language, and physical union are three important themes in the poem. The poem expresses his love for the physical union that is akin to the love of the seawater for pearl and the love of lily for some watcher. It is similar to his own love for the moon. Nonetheless, he can only express his desires through language, whereas physical consummation is only possible via direct interaction and not language alone. Therefore, the poet stresses more upon the physical union and less on language or expression of love.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used In Some Kiss We Want

literary devices add multiple dimensions of impressiveness to poems. Maulana Rumi also used some literary devices in this poem whose analysis is as follows.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /o/ in “a touch of Spirit on the body” and the sound of /ee/ in “Breathe into me”.
2. Alliteration: The poem shows the use of alliteration in the shape of initial consonant sounds of the neighboring words, such as the sound of /w/ in “we want”.
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as, the sound of  /l/ in “with our whole lives” and the sound of /s/ in “There is some kiss we want.”
4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face into mine.
Breathe into me.

5. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “And the lily, how passionately”, “At night, I open the window” and “The moon won’t use the door.”
6. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used the extended metaphor of love for physical union.
7. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of symbols such as seawater, lily, and the moon to show love.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Some Kiss We Want

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of descriptive diction and a serious tone.
2. Free Verse: The poem does not follow any strict rhyming pattern or stanza form. Therefore, it is a free verse poem.
3. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are no fixed stanzas in this poem. There are total six stanzas with a different number of verses.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from “Some Kiss We Want” are appropriate to quote when talking about the impossible happenings or tasks.

The moon won’t use the door,
only the window.