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February 20, 2006

Neruda Poem

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

-Pablo Neruda, from 100 Love Sonnets

5 comments:

Coley said...

Oh my gosh, where did you find this poem? It is beautiful. Furthermore, I can absolutely relate to it. Thanks for sharing.

Coley said...

Silly me, I can see who the author is and what book it comes from. I wasn't thinking. Sorry.

amcorrea said...

It's even better in Spanish. ;)

Anonymous said...

cool poem. i like neruda alot. hes one of the few i do like. i have his captains verses, its pretty groovy.

uh anyways, later! :-)

Jana Swartwood said...

I wish I knew Spanish (though right now it's about 6th or 7th on my list of languages to learn). Stuff is always best in the original language. Gotta say, I love Neruda, too. I owe a great literary debt to my friend Damion, who introduced me Neruda, among others. Extravagaria is great, too. I really like the first poem (though I can't remember it's title at the moment).