How to say without saying

In the old country, women
had a way of kissing each 

other in greeting: lips
barely grazing skin, cheeks 

lightly grazing cheeks. 
I learned how to do this 
 
and other ways of touching
without touching, saying

without opening my mouth:
an eyebrow arch; the body

taut, holding still, a bomb
before the moment it goes off,

the body's shadow a dark 
mushroom cloud in perfect 

silhouette at noon, 
bristling on the sidewalk.