Monday, March 30, 2020

between the shadow and the soul








I do not love you as if you were the 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 
 art by Odilon Redon, Golden Cell



1 comments:

jacquin said...

These words carry the kind of beauty that squeezes the heart and brings tears to the eye.
Reminder that I want to read Pablo Neruda's poems through and have never gotten around to it. Lockdown goals!