Poetry Month :)

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

April is National Poetry Month, so for this post, it's only appropriate to share what I think is one of the most beautiful sonnets there is. I have read this back when I was fourteen, and up to this day, it is still my ultimate favorite of all time. I have actually posted this up before, but I'll do it again, just because I love it so much.
This is Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda.

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.

2 comments:

  1. P.S. I mentioned you on my blog post today. (queen bee)

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  2. You know, I have often heard of Pablo Neruda, but never actually read any of his work. I must get some. Have you seen the movie Il Postino? It is a beautiful, beautiful film. Massimo Troisi was a genius.

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