Happy Valentine's Day from Pablo Neruda--





XVII (I do not love you...) 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.




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Comments

  1. I am lost between the shadow and the soul. Such an evocative poem. Received the card today and it's up on the bulletin board of inspiration. Thanks Kells. Xoxo, peace & poetry (as you so elegantly say)...

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  2. Thanks for the card, Kelli! I have never seen a picture of Pablo Neruda, and he is much as I imagined him.

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