Sonnet 17

Pablo Neruda

(1904 – 1973)

This is a beautiful poem and focuses on what many poets attempt at some point – they write about love. Surprisingly, many get it right or nearly so despite the impossibility of the task. The poem includes some simple images and some that are more complex. The final two lines are particularly sweet.

Search the website for poems on “Love, Romance and Attraction." Lot’s of good choices, but I particularly like W.H. Auden’s O Tell Me the Truth About Love.

Sonnet 17

I do not love you as if you were a 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.

Here's a reading to check out.