Because of you, in gardens of blossoming
Flowers I ache from the perfumes of spring.
I have forgotten your face, I no longer
Remember your hands; how did your lips
Feel on mine?
Because of you, I love the white statues
Drowsing in the parks, the white statues that
Have neither voice nor sight.
I have forgotten your voice, your happy voice;
I have forgotten your eyes.
Like a flower to its perfume, I am bound to
My vague memory of you. I live with pain
That is like a wound; if you touch me, you will
Make to me an irreperable harm.
Your caresses enfold me, like climbing
Vines on melancholy walls.
I have forgotten your love, yet I seem to
Glimpse you in every window.
Because of you, the heady perfumes of
Summer pain me; because of you, I again
Seek out the signs that precipitate desires:
Shooting stars, falling objects.
Love by Pablo Neruda • 118 poems by Pablo NerudaEdit
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This Chilean poet, and diplomat, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. His original name was Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, but he used the pen name Pablo Neruda for over 20 years before adopting it legally in 1946. Neruda is the most widely read of the Spanish American poets. From the 1940s on, his works reflected the political struggle of the left and the socio-historical developments in South America. He also wrote love poems. Neruda's Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (1924) have sold over a million copies since it first appeared.
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By Pablo Neruda, © 1959, All rights reserved.
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- Lovely poem to read on a rainy day. I simply love it.. sigh...
Facebook likedRate this comment
- This is very beautiful. I am in aw.Rate this comment
- i love this poem Pablo its the great poem.Rate this comment
simply beautiful. i could relate. lovely. loved it.
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- this is very nice!Rate this comment
- This is an extraordinarily beautiful poem. I would have preferred the translation of the fourth stanza to have been:
Like a flower to its perfume, i am bound to
my vague memory of you. I live with pain
that is like a wound; if you touch me, you will
cause me irreparable harm.
A minor quibble, really. Neruda is so painfully beautiful that his words bring this crusty old man almost to tears.Rate this comment
This is absolutely beautiful. It possesses a quality that I like very much, a sort of aching, sentimental vibe that I adore. It gets its point across without feeling overdone, and I can easily imagine the poet himself musing over his lost love as he wrote this. It's gorgeous.
- Now this is the perfect example of why Pablo Neruda is one of my favorites, if not my favorite poet of all time. How can one stand such beauty? How does one read such emotions and then keep it together? I am so glad that I read this this morning. Thank you so much for highlighting this piece.
When he says....."I have forgotten......" for me there is no more to say, especially when I have forgotten, yet I see him everywhere, and should he touch me I question if the harm would be irreperable. I love his work.
- Superb poet that never ceases to draw me in to his works and no trouble holding my attention ...
- Love.
- Pablo Neruda was a genius.
No one ever critiques a "classic", do they? It's all love and cookies. It's not as if he can hear you.
Take a shot. How can new poets learn if we are always kiss-assing and bowing? To me it seems very colorless and a bit less than innervating. It may be great, but I think: If some poor kid on AP stuffed this out, would the response be the same. No. Don't kid a kidder.
The redundant "Because of you" would receive the Alfian hammer of "It's been done before. It makes it solipsic."
It's too simplistic for modern poetry standards. Judge it by what is; no bias for non-English poets or for the styles of the past. Treat it as if it showed up today on New by Favorites. How else can you learn?
- I think there are some errors in translations, such as "make to me" which would have the same verb in Spanish as 'do me'.
This is a powerful love poem. I just can't resist. I have to read it all over again.
- Beautiful sadness. Thank you, Pablo Neruda for sharing words that stir something within my soul.
I love the last little phrase - falling objects
- Sweet ...I have never read you before ...I like , storm
- A lovely poem which reminds me of a famous Tagore poem
THE LAST SUMMER
Before this day is over
Let me fulfill my desire
Together let us go
Only for once
And collect the flowers of spring.
To your garden
Spring will come again and again
I beg of you only this one.
I forgot so long
How my time has passed in vain.
In this evening light
Suddenly I see in your eyes
I have no time
With an anxious mind
Now like a miser I count
The remaining moments of this spring.
Don’t have any fear in your mind –
In your flowering garden
I shall not spend much time
Nor shall I look back at you
When I bid you my last farewell.
I shall not look into your eyes
Expecting some tears
To cherish their memory in my heart
Pining forever.
Don’t go away, please listen,
The sun is yet to set
For us to beguile some more time
Still there is time.
Let this afternoon light
Coming through the leaves
Glitter in your glossy hair
Yet for a while.
May you laugh loud and sweet
Without any cause
In remorseless mirth –
On the banks of the lake
May you suddenly startle the squirrel
And make it alert in fear.
Whispering past promises into your ears
I won’t slow down your steps.
At last, may you fleet away
Trampling the fallen leaves
When the birds returning to their nests
Fill the dying hours
With their evening songs
Like the last note of a flute at dusk
Your shadow will slowly fade far away
In the evening darkening groves.
And when the night will become deep
Please sit at your window.
Along the way that lies before
I shall leave at last
Leaving my all
We shall not meet ever again
Please throw your garland of mallika flowers
You made in the morning, but now pale -
That will be your touch
That will be your farewell song.
---------------
Transcreation of the poem Sesh basanta from the collection Purabi by Rabindranath Tagore. Transcreation by Kumud Biswas.
- very sad, but so beautifully painted with endlessly flowing imagery.
- Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (:
He is one of my favorite poets. This is oh so very beautiful!
WindSong
I enjoyed this read very much. Who am I to criticize love and its touch to the human soul. Very well done.
- this is awesome. i love poems like this. great job.
- Everything is so vivid! I loved it!
He is great , he brought to love its sacred value
- great poem love the way you describe things
- They're so good and so so much better in Spanish . It's amazing how even the best Neruda translations do the man no justice .
- nice poem! i love pablo neruda's poems because of the way he describes them and because his love poems are very romantic and nice.
ehh, this sounds really heart renching, umm reminds me of my past love, what she may or I may think as one dream.
- From guest Trevor (contact)
This is one of the saddest poems I have read lately. ALthough at least he can remember his love, as if frozen in time. Lovely....
such a lovely poem. oh to feel the ache of love <3- From guest charlotte (contact)
i lvoe that that is so beautiful it is sweet yet caring and nice i love it omg it is so sweet i love your poem
From guest daisy (contact)
hey itz me again dasiy i will be writing you for a while how do you do it like writing this love poem where you in love with some one that time that so awesome for finding your true love that time idf you did. when you were writing that poem who where you writing to a person in pertiler or anyone... i now itz not my bussinees if you don't want to tell me but it just i'm in a reashionship and i want to make it sweet that's all thanks again daisy...
MOD MESSAGE
Pablo died in 1973!
Jim- Wow... love those last lines. This one gets me all teary every time.
stella
- oh dear...its awesome again
this poem touches my eye
From guest SiNuS BRaDy (contact)
i feel like crying when i read this poem too, but only because of the shooting stars & falling objects that are hitting me on eye ... boo hoo, oh poor little Pablocito ... i glimpse in your every window ... & pee on your graveThis poem touches my heart
From guest patricia (contact)
I feel like crying wen i read this poem.If I could i buy the book and read it a million times- From guest laura0757 (contact)
i loved this thats all.......and seeing that I love to write about love I also love to read about it... - Okay, that's it - three pieces and I'm smitten! I have nothing to say - Believe me, that's quite the accomplishment!
Love ya All~Ways,
~ Jan ~ - From guest martina's (contact)
what a nice poem'' - From guest ARoo (contact)
I love this poem! Does any one know where I could find it in Spanish? WOW!?!
From guest Dionne Browning (contact)
This Poem Is Great!?!? There is the slighgtest bit of recongnision- this is a very good poem you really give off the feeling off lost love and the very vague feeling off familiarity when you lose the one you love.... Great write!!
Sublime
At times I love to walk in a park were there are such little white statues and the lush green trees/leaves around it, this poem would go just perfect with such an environment.- Oh, what a beautiful picture you put in my head!! I loved the way this just flowed with descriptions and how you seemed to paint a picture with your words!
Thanks so much for sharing this ! It's amazing!
Mary T. wow
this poem has so much beauty in it. The imagery is pure amazing. I love every part of it.- He knew how to capture the sometimes futile ache of love. A very relevant poem to anyone who's love hasn't panned out.
- sigh..
- It's a wonderful piece.I'm going to read more from Pablo Neruda.
- In my mind Neruda is saying how great an effect people can have us long after they're gone. When two people are in love they absorb each others tastes, their likes and dislikes, and when that love goes away sometimes all that is left is those shared preferences.
- From guest A chick (contact)
this is a great poem! it is Amazing - From guest andrea victoria zuniga carias (contact)
i loved is soo perfect that i not have words to describe how wonderful is this poem!!!!!! - Passion can be felt on every words of this write... Love....yearning ... this is a heart felt piece....
- absolutly wonderful!!
Bill's AS YOU LIKE IT Act II Scene VII
From guest Tough Is Not Enough (contact)
Perfect match to WS's "All the world's a stage..." poetry. Seventh Age of man: "Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." Wow !Glorious!
Passion, yearning, desire...
It like reading a page from existance.
I would hope that everyone on earth knows
this feeling once in their lifetime...
'Shooting stars, falling objects.'wow neruda
From guest alexandra (contact)
i admire this poem it really takes about love..I LOVE IT!!!LOVE
From guest MARIBEL (contact)
I THINK THIS POEM IS REALLY ROMANTIC.IT REALLY DOES TALK ABOUT LOVE. I UNDERSTAND ITS FEELINGS.IT IS VERY BEAUTIFUL.New Found Love
From guest asw (contact)
It seems the person responsible for his heartache that will always be, is also the same person responsible for showing him love that makes him want to seek out love once again. Rather than feeling hopeless, he is inspired.- Wow a very powerful and honest feeling poem i can feel the pain of the author its amazing i espesially love the line "Like a flower to its perfume, I am bound to
My vague memory of you. I live with pain
That is like a wound; if you touch me, you will
Make to me an irreperable harm." Its just so...WOW!
-Dawn - very clear. HE writes his words very underestandable.
HE explains what the imagery is meaning. Very professionaly done. AWww I feel he's a bit sad but somehow it seems he still have a bit of hope Great Poem
From guest elvis meng (contact)
Actually I bought the poem translated into Chinese. His poem is so touchable and powerful. I love reading his again and again.- in the pain of loss beauty hurts so deeply.
even simple reminders can be the most abrasive.
He felt it. And it showed so deeply.
What a stunning write. - From guest kierson ledane (contact)
awfully inspiring.. - very inspiring, and a beautiful write. He is quite an influence for many poets today. I actually have a poem of Neruda's on my page at all poetry. I read it to remind me how I started writing and why I still do.
Another brilliant poet. *awwwwwwwww*
i love great love poems they really touch my heart. this isnt the best ive heard but it really is good!
