Love Sonnet - XVII: A memory

Pablo Neruda

It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for Memory, the side of Poetry & Process where we come together to memorize poetry. We conduct this practice to engrain words of meaning into our minds, bodies and beings that will serve as a companion during our unique walks through life. While each life is unique, the situations we encounter and the emotions we face have been felt by many who have walked before us. Poems we know deeply can speak what we need to hear at the most opportune times.

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Photo by Ileana Skakun

For the next Two weeks, we turn our attention to a beautiful love poem by a Chilean poet known throughout his life as a “frank, sensuous spokesman for love”.

Love Sonnet - XVII by Pablo Neruda

Spoken:

Text:

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,   
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:   
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,   
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries   
the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,   
and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose   
from the earth lives dimly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,   
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,
except in this form in which I am not nor are you,   
so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,   
so close that your eyes close with my dreams.

Video: English and Spanish

The Poet:

If you are interested in Pablo Neruda’s biography, check out this summary on Poetry Foundation.

Chat:

This is the point in our memorization process where we move the conversation to a Thread in the Chat function in the SubStack app/website. The text of the poem is posted there for paid subscribers to read and come back to. Check in today and throughout the week to hear how others in this community are memorizing the poem, the impact it is having on their week, and to discuss the themes in the poem.

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Make this experience your own, choosing how you approach the poem’s content, your memorization process, and connect with us in the chat!

I look forward to our conversation!

Brian

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