HUG

From infanthood through old age,
It warms, it calms, it drains the rage.
Skinflint, spender, debtor, lender,
Lover or stranger of any gender,
Skinny or stout, with clothes or without,
It works through sweaters, and floats your boat
While working its way through your winter coat.

Don't worry about timing or duration,
Or what to touch - waist, chest, neck…
And though closing your eyes seems to boost the effect,
Sincerity seems to affect the elation…
Enjoy it - even if it's just a rehearsal.
It doesn't wear out, and it's universal:

Mexican, Maori, Turk and Thai,
The Innuit, do it. So do Maasai,
Prime ministers, fruit pickers,
Rubes, city slickers, bishops and vicars,
Billionaires and low earners.
Geniuses and slow learners.

Gets you feeling ten feet tall.
Gives a better buzz than alcohol,
You don't need muscles
To get a win win situation,
Cause Pacinian corpuscles
Under the skin trigger elation
Thru the vagus nerve,
Which elevates your verve,
'Cause it connects to the heart, and,
(What with hormones and glands and all)
The oxytocin receptors! And it cuts cortisol.
What a fabulous feeling it foments!
Even cranky curmudgeons succumb -
in rare unguarded moments.

Moslems, Christians, Jains and Jews
Koala bears, and kangaroos,
Monkees, penguins, sloths, and cheetahs,
Walruses, Whales, and bottom feeders
Like octopi. Arctic hares,
Manatees, and polar bears.
Herrings do it before they're kippers,
Seals do it with their flippers,
Giraffes and pandas, geese and ganders,
Pomeranians, cuddly kittens,
All Mediterraneans, quite a few Britons.

Even a creepy slimy slug
Might eventually find another to hug.
Even an occasional millipede
Gets caught on camera doin' the deed,
The halt, the lame, with their canes and prostheses…
And hey! It flourishes inter-species!:

Dogs do it with ducks, pachyderms with their keepers
Lobsters with shrimps, Jane Goodall with chimps.
I've seen salamanders doin' it with peepers;
Rats with cats, and swans with loons
Horses with goats, or baby baboons.

Hugs haven't yet been standardized,
Haven't – as yet - been monetized,
And they work much better when improvised.
So don't sweat the macho back slappin'.
Don't overthink it. Just let it happen.
Just relax, don't be impatient.
It doesn't require any calculation.
You don't need a strategy. Don't make plans!
Don't worry where the arms go, or the hands.
Practice helps, but there's no need to train,
It doesn't cause pain. You're not going to fall.
It doesn't require a very big brain –
It doesn't require a brain at all!
Try it with trees or teddy bears,
A blanket, a pillow, a doll… who cares,
'Cause a hug shoos away whatever's unpleasant.
It's the natural organic anti-depressant,
The tie that binds, combines, connects;
The ideal drug, with sublime side effects:

But all this description is just a blip -
The wrap of arms, the gentle grip,
The flush, the smiling eyes and lips -
All that's just the iceberg's tip -
While that touching of souls, that savor serene,
The Transcendent Cuddle, remains unseen,

So lose control. Envelop, enfold
The whole universe into the hold,
Allowing the light to love each cell,
Allowing elation to dispel
The stubborn illusion of separation.
Hug!

HUG

New Poems

From By Heart

Some Earlier Poems

Audio Recordings