Relief

To draw conclusions from the precise force
Exerted by a handshake or a kiss
Is to confuse a delta’s civilities
With the ambiguous thunder of its source,
And what the fingers or the lips endorse
Could be misleading. It comes down to this:
Emotions are such things as you might miss.
The river is the mystery of its course.

And so it may not seem to matter much
If you react with unexpected fright
To what was thought to be a welcome pressure,
Or quite inconsequentially delight
In disappointment, taking a guilty pleasure
In the dismaying lightness of a touch.