Kiss
I could not kiss you lightly
Brush cheek with cheek and vanish
Hummingbird swift to another blossom.
Deeper nectars demand the patience of desire
I could not kiss you softly.
Sweetness comes to summer fruit
bruised by tongue and lip and tooth.
Fierce kisses delight as they devour.
I could not kiss you quickly.
Aeons might pass in a stolen breath;
Empires rise and fall upon your lips,
Two lifetimes, evanescent as a touch.
I could not kiss you as I might
So I will touch your hand
When we meet and smile,
And I shall not kiss at all.
The Last Bastion 
Is this about how Mars lost its ancient watery atmosphere to solar wind?
Yes. Yes it is. You’ve seen right through my subterfuges…
Good to know. I thought it was one of those simile/analogy/metaphors thingies.