Sunday, June 27, 2010

Daily Practice 178/365


Title: "Secrets between the shadow and the soul"
(click image to view larger)
 
I do not love you as if you were 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 do 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

1 comment:

J. M. Golding said...

The metaphor of the photo a perfect match for the metaphor of the poem, and at the same time so much more direct in a way that is beyond words.