The Infamous Kiss
by Jerry Ratch
When the sailor heard the 2nd
World War had just ended
He grabbed the woman in the white dress
Bent her backwards in Times Square
And kissed her real good
And the photographer
Just happened to be there
At the right moment
But then
As soon as the kiss was over
The pair went their separate ways
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Author's Note
poem, poetry
Other stories by Jerry Ratch
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Always.
Well done.
Jerry-There is a fiberglas statue of that kiss on the Sarasota, FL waterfront. It's titled "Unconditional Surrender." It was quite controversial as a piece of kitsch as public art. But then the alleged sailor in the original photo died last week. Turns out he was drunk and the nurse (actually a dental assistant) is still alive. The next photo in the roll shows her punching him. She was being attacked and didn't like it at all. Or that's how it was explained on NPR last week. Just a little background. It's even more confusing here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-J_Day_in_Times_Square
Anyway, nice poem.
Thanks for the background, Daniel. Was always a mystery to me. I love the photo and Jerry's interpretation.
To Daniel: The true story is another story or poem in itself.
What brought the statue into the news was that someone spray painted #metoo on the woman's leg.
That's when all the controversy came to the fore with the background that the woman was not a nurse, and did not appreciate the drunken sailor's assault. All the stuff of poetry.
Most kisses don't last so long.*
*, Jerry.