The poem sets two kinds of wanting side by side. In the opening lines, the speaker flies a kite and feels the weight of control in one hand. The kite is nearly out of reach, yet it can be pulled back. That push and pull carries into the next image, where a lover's body is compared to a peak. It invites the speaker not to fall but to "teem," to be full of life, which makes desire feel abundant rather than risky.
Then the mood shifts. News arrives of a "fever for land," and the speaker calls the business of selling places "a mad thing." Ownership here looks like sickness, a greed that turns places into goods. The last image, stones kept in the mouth for their rarity, is odd and a little uneasy. It suggests hoarding something precious, perhaps at the cost of speech. The title, "Playing for keeps," fits both worlds: love and property each involve holding on. The speaker seems to favor tender, living closeness over buying and keeping.