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Today, on November 7th, 2009, the site contains 196 poets, 8,692 poems and 7,542 comments.
Pablo Neruda - Love Sonnet XVII

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.

Added: on September 25th, 2008 at 9:01 AM | Viewed: 61465 times | Comments (35)


Love Sonnet XVII - Comments and Information

Poet: Pablo Neruda
Poem: Love Sonnet XVII
Volume: 100 Love Sonnets

Comment 35 of 35, added on April 12th, 2009 at 1:50 PM.

well depending on the time Neruda wrote this poem you can tell for whom it was.The 100 love sonnets was dedicated I think it was regarding his third wife which he had an affair with when he was with his second wife. I really love this poem in every one of his poems he demonstrates such truthfulness of what he is feeling.

maria lopez from Dominican Republic
Comment 34 of 35, added on December 4th, 2008 at 1:08 AM.

Pablo Neruda, through this Love Sonnet,transfers his varied intense emotions of LOVE to everyone of his readers / listeners. It is not through words, metaphors, style, or thoughts, meanings, views and interpretations . It is by Neruda's magical touch of sounds & vibrations. We read, go about,search and look for meanings until we feel the exact emotions coursing through us.

What is love? A word? A thought? An idea? A fantasy? No, it is nothing but an awe-inspiring fusion of hearts & feelings ... an emotional experience. The last two lines sum it up.



Ganeish from United States
Comment 33 of 35, added on September 25th, 2008 at 9:01 AM.

Please advise name of translator of poem as it appears of your website. Thanks.

Neil Mundy from United Kingdom

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