--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After all, a kiss between real lovers is…" description: "\"“After all, a kiss between real lovers is not some type of contract, a neatly defined moment of pleasure, something obtained by greedy conquest, or any..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/martin-prechtel-45389_admiration_after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is_3124896.png" --- # After all, a kiss between real lovers is not some type of… ![“After all, a kiss between real lovers is not some type of contract, a neatly defined moment of pleasure, something obtained by greedy conquest, or any kind of clear saying of how it is. It is a grief-drenched hatching of two hearts into some ecstatic never-before-seen bird whose new…” quote by Martin Prechtel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/martin-prechtel-45389_admiration_after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is_3124896.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/martin-prechtel-45389_admiration_after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is_3124896.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/martin-prechtel-45389_admiration_after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is_3124896.png) > ““After all, a kiss between real lovers is not some type of contract, a neatly defined moment of pleasure, something obtained by greedy conquest, or any kind of clear saying of how it is. It is a grief-drenched hatching of two hearts into some ecstatic never-before-seen bird whose new uncategorizable form, unrecognized by the status quo, gives the slip to Death's sure rational deal. For love is a delicious and always messy extension of life that unfrantically outgrows mortality's rigid insistence on precise and efficient definition. Having all the answers means you haven't really ecstatically kissed or lived, thereby declaring the world defined and already finished. Loving all the questions on the other hand is a vitality that makes any length of life worth living. Loving doesn't mean you know all the notes and that you have to play all the notes, it just means you have to play the few notes you have long and beautifully. Like the sight of a truly beautiful young woman, smooth and gliding, melting hearts at even a distant glimpse, that no words, no matter how capable, can truly describe; a woman whose beauty is only really known by those who take a perch on the vista of time to watch the years of life speak out their long ornate sentences of grooves as they slowly stretch into her smoothness, wrinkling her as she glides struggling, decade by decade, her gait mitigated by a long trail of heavy loads, joys, losses, and suffering whose joint-aching years of traveling into a mastery of her own artistry of living, becomes even more than beauty something about which though we are even now no more capable of addressing than before, our admiration as original Earth-loving human beings should nonetheless never remain silent. And for that beauty we should never sing about, but only sing directly to it. Straightforward, cold, and inornate description in the presence of such living evidence of the flowering speech of the Holy in the Seed would be death of both the beauty and the speaker. Even if we always fail when we speak, we must be willing to fail magnificently, for even an eloquent failure, if in the service of life, feeds the Divine. Is it not a magical thing, this life, when just a little ash, cinder, and unclear water can arrange themselves into a beautiful old woman who sways, lifts, kisses, loves, sickens, argues, loses, bears up under it all, and, wrinkling, still lives under all that and yet feeds the Holy in Nature by just the way she moves barefoot down a path? If we can find the hearts, tongues, and brightness of our original souls, broken or not, then no matter from what mess we might have sprung today, we would be like those old-time speakers of life; every one of us would have it in our nature to feel obligated by such true living beauty as to know we have to say something in its presence if only for our utter feeling of awe. For, finally learning to approach something respectfully with love, slowly with the courtesy of an ornate indirectness, not describing what we see but praising the magnificence of her half-smiles of grief and persistent radiance rolling up from the weight-bearing thumping of her fine, well-oiled dusty old feet shuffling toward the dawn reeds at the edge of her part of the lake to fetch a head-balanced little clay jar of water to cook the family breakfast, we would know why the powerful Father Sun himself hurries to get his daily glimpse of her, only rising early because she does.”” [Martin Prechtel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-prechtel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is an unpredictable, messy force that defies precise definition and transcends mortality, urging us to embrace questions over certainty. **In simple terms:** Love is chaotic, endless, and beyond strict definition. Key Takeaway Embrace love’s mystery and live fully. Themes love mortality existence beauty questioning Mood reflective poetic intense Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - artistic creation - personal growth - grieving - celebrating life Key Concepts existentialism romanticism human experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor love’s uncertainty? - What questions does love inspire in you? 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Wilkinson > [I now resolved to go to bed early, with a firm purpose of also rising early the next day to revisit this charming walk;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-philipp-moritz/i-now-resolved-to-go-to-bed-early-with-a-firm-purpose-of-also-rising/) [Karl Philipp Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-philipp-moritz/) > [The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/the-words-of-jonadab-the-son-of-rechab-that-he-commanded-his-sons-not/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Dear, don't think of getting out of bed yet. I've always suspected that early rising in early life makes one nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/dear-don-t-think-of-getting-out-of-bed-yet-i-ve-always-suspected-that/) [F. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I believe that days one and two for most of us involve getting more control over the body-such as getting to be early, arising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/i-believe-that-days-one-and-two-for-most-of-us-involve-getting-more/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [Rising early and scorning laziness, remaining calm in time of strife, faultless in conduct and clever in actions. One like this will be praised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/rising-early-and-scorning-laziness-remaining-calm-in-time-of-strife/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) ## More by Martin Prechtel > [We live in a kind of dark age, craftily lit with synthetic light, so that no one can tell how dark it has really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-prechtel/we-live-in-a-kind-of-dark-age-craftily-lit-with-synthetic-light-so/) [Martin Prechtel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-prechtel/) > [“Humans are amazing ritual animals, and it must be understood that the Tzutujil, nor any other real intact people, do not 'practice' rituals. 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When we are removed from what we love, we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-prechtel/when-we-first-meet-what-we-love-we-could-become-poets-for-our-longing/) [Martin Prechtel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-prechtel/) [Explore all 9 Martin Prechtel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-prechtel/) ## More Admiration quotes > [I have tremendous admiration for companies with the kind of pioneering spirit and innovation eBay has demonstrated from day one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/i-have-tremendous-admiration-for-companies-with-the-kind-of/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [The older you've gotten, the more respect and admiration you've received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jupp-heynckes/the-older-you-ve-gotten-the-more-respect-and-admiration-you-ve/) [Jupp Heynckes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jupp-heynckes/) > [I still don't feel I know Hitchcock at all. I find that the more one looks, the more elusive he becomes. 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It is a grief-drenched hatching of two hearts into some ecstatic never-before-seen bird whose new uncategorizable form, unrecognized by the status quo, gives the slip to Death's sure rational deal. For love is a delicious and always messy extension of life that unfrantically outgrows mortality's rigid insistence on precise and efficient definition. Having all the answers means you haven't really ecstatically kissed or lived, thereby declaring the world defined and already finished. Loving all the questions on the other hand is a vitality that makes any length of life worth living. Loving doesn't mean you know all the notes and that you have to play all the notes, it just means you have to play the few notes you have long and beautifully. Like the sight of a truly beautiful young woman, smooth and gliding, melting hearts at even a distant glimpse, that no words, no matter how capable, can truly describe; a woman whose beauty is only really known by those who take a perch on the vista of time to watch the years of life speak out their long ornate sentences of grooves as they slowly stretch into her smoothness, wrinkling her as she glides struggling, decade by decade, her gait mitigated by a long trail of heavy loads, joys, losses, and suffering whose joint-aching years of traveling into a mastery of her own artistry of living, becomes even more than beauty something about which though we are even now no more capable of addressing than before, our admiration as original Earth-loving human beings should nonetheless never remain silent. And for that beauty we should never sing about, but only sing directly to it. Straightforward, cold, and inornate description in the presence of such living evidence of the flowering speech of the Holy in the Seed would be death of both the beauty and the speaker. Even if we always fail when we speak, we must be willing to fail magnificently, for even an eloquent failure, if in the service of life, feeds the Divine. Is it not a magical thing, this life, when just a little ash, cinder, and unclear water can arrange themselves into a beautiful old woman who sways, lifts, kisses, loves, sickens, argues, loses, bears up under it all, and, wrinkling, still lives under all that and yet feeds the Holy in Nature by just the way she moves barefoot down a path? If we can find the hearts, tongues, and brightness of our original souls, broken or not, then no matter from what mess we might have sprung today, we would be like those old-time speakers of life; every one of us would have it in our nature to feel obligated by such true living beauty as to know we have to say something in its presence if only for our utter feeling of awe. For, finally learning to approach something respectfully with love, slowly with the courtesy of an ornate indirectness, not describing what we see but praising the magnificence of her half-smiles of grief and persistent radiance rolling up from the weight-bearing thumping of her fine, well-oiled dusty old feet shuffling toward the dawn reeds at the edge of her part of the lake to fetch a head-balanced little clay jar of water to cook the family breakfast, we would know why the powerful Father Sun himself hurries to get his daily glimpse of her, only rising early because she does.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Prechtel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-prechtel/after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is-not-some-type-of-contract-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Admiration" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-prechtel/after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is-not-some-type-of-contract-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/martin-prechtel-45389_admiration_after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is_3124896.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/martin-prechtel-45389_admiration_after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is_3124896.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/martin-prechtel-45389_admiration_after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is_3124896.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“After all, a kiss between real lovers is not some type of contract, a neatly defined moment of pleasure…” — Martin Prechtel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martin Prechtel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-prechtel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“After all, a kiss between real...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-prechtel/after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is-not-some-type-of-contract-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-prechtel/after-all-a-kiss-between-real-lovers-is-not-some-type-of-contract-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```