what does these lines meam?

[worldwalker]

"Lying together there goes back so far
An emblem of two people being honest."

the tow lines are from Philip Larkin Talking in Bed. my question is what dose the frase "goes back " mean here. it means the distance between the two backs of liers ? if so, and what does the word " emblem" refer to ? thanks.



the whole poetry:

Talking in Bed

Talking in bed ought to be easiest
Lying together there goes back so far
An emblem of two people being honest.

Yet more and more time passes silently.
Outside the wind's incomplete unrest
builds and disperses clouds about the sky.

And dark towns heap up on the horizon.
None of this cares for us. Nothing shows why
At this unique distance from isolation

It becomes still more difficult to find
Words at once true and kind
Or not untrue and not unkind.

[barbara0207]

I don't think 'back' is a noun here; it's got nothing to do with the lovers's backs. Probably it means that 'lying together' goes far back in history, to the beginning of mankind. Christians might be reminded of Adam and Eve when they were still in Paradise, still 'honest'.

The word 'emblem' is similar to 'symbol'.

Does that make any sense to you?

[worldwalker]

thank barbara0207 for your explaining. i think i have known how to translate the poetry into chinese as my homework.

[Dark Muse]

Yes I have to agree, here it seems to mean the idea of lovers lying together goes far back to the beigning of humankind. It is such an age old practice.

I think the word emblem here is just a way of showing the trust between two people that would be so open and vunrable with each, to lie together when they are most bare and exposed, I think is symbolic of thier honsty with each other, as it would be harder to be dishonest without your clothes to hide behind becasue you feel naturally more vulnrable.