February142010

Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda

libraryland:

sniffyjenkins:

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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(Thanks to Inmi for posting part of this a couple of days ago. Thought I’d do the whole thing because, you know: Neruda. Also, it’s one of the greatest love poems I know of. Because, you know: NERUDA.)

this is my favorite neruda poem, it is simply sheer genius and beautiful perfection

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