Hugs Poem by gershon hepner

From mere handshaking the plug
has now been pulled, and people hug
whoever they by chance may meet,
with hugs the ritual of greeting
performed by people who don’t need
to like each other. Hugs indeed
are now considered far more hip
than kisses in the air from lip
to lip, and just as superficial,
becoming the routine initial
mode of contact between strangers.
They’re embraces without dangers,
as proper between girls or guys
for those who gay love may despise,
because a hug is not romantic––
unless of course it’s corybantic,
but just another way to show
you care for somebody although
you needn’t, and might prefer to shrug
them off. You do this with hug,
just like the kiss that Judas gave.
That’s why I personally don’t rave
about the present hugging fad,
although perhaps I may get used
to hugs when smiles give them a boost,
although a smile can never be
of sympathy a guarantee.
I’ll end this with a hug although
I do consider it de trop.

Sarah Kershaw writers about his in the NYT, May 28,2009 (“For Teenagers, Hello Means ‘How About a Hug? ’”) :
There is so much hugging at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., that students have broken down the hugs by type: There is the basic friend hug, probably the most popular, and the bear hug, of course. But now there is also the bear claw, when a boy embraces a girl awkwardly with his elbows poking out. There is the hug that starts with a high-five, then moves into a fist bump, followed by a slap on the back and an embrace. There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of three girls and boys hugging at once. “We’re not afraid, we just get in and hug, ” said Danny Schneider, a junior at the school, where hallway hugging began shortly after 7 a.m. on a recent morning as students arrived. “The guy friends, we don’t care. You just get right in there and jump in.” There are romantic hugs, too, but that is not what these teenagers are talking about. Girls embracing girls, girls embracing boys, boys embracing each other — the hug has become the favorite social greeting when teenagers meet or part these days. Teachers joke about “one hour” and “six hour” hugs, saying that students hug one another all day as if they were separated for the entire summer…“It’s like air-kissing. It’s really superficial.” But Carrie Osbourne, a sixth-grade teacher at Claire Lilienthal Alternative School, said hugging was a powerful and positive sign that children are inclined to nurture one another, breaking down barriers. “And it gets to that core that every person wants to feel cared for, regardless of your age or how cool you are or how cool you think you are, ” she said. As much as hugging is a physical gesture, it has migrated online as well. Facebook applications allowing friends to send hugs have tens of thousands of fans. Katie Dea, the San Francisco eighth grader, as well as Olivia Brown,11, who lives in Manhattan and is the younger sister of Gabrielle, the LaGuardia High freshman, have a new sign-off for their text and e-mail messages: *hug.*


5/28/08