The poem is built around a question: could a kissing gate, the kind of narrow swinging gate found on country footpaths, play a part in the "translation" between two people? The speaker seems to be thinking about how hard it is to truly understand someone else, and wonders whether an ordinary object might help carry meaning from one person to the other.
The gate becomes a small image of closeness. Its name suggests a kiss, and the poem says it is "touching at first," as if two people meeting tentatively. Then it is "open as a road," which suggests possibility and a path stretching ahead. The last lines are the most striking: the gate gives "both me and you / our own past." Rather than merging two lives, it lets each person keep their own history.
The mood is quiet, tender, and thoughtful. The speaker sounds curious rather than certain, and the gentle question at the start leaves the whole poem feeling open.