Tuesday, September 16, 2008

On Poetry...

Literature is one of my favorite subjects in highschool. We used to memorize and recite several poems in class. Who could forget Browning's How Do I Love Thee? or Henley's Invictus?

I know it's funny but right now I'm *crushing* on Pablo Neruda's poems
. He is one of my favorite poets, aside from E.E. Cummings.

Thought bubble: I will try to read this to PP later. Nyahaha!

If You Forget Me
by Pablo Neruda

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.

Now if he replies with a poem, it's going to be the creep! :D

What is your favorite poem?


5 comments:

amy turn sharp said...

love margret atwood poem called variations on the word sleep. love it.

Anonymous said...

I love Pedro Neruda's works too. This poem is one of my faves. I also like Sonnet VIII and
I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair. Just very flattering!

The Ice Queen said...

Another Neruda fan here! My faves are Sonnet 17 and Tonight I Write the Saddest Lines. :)

Jizzka said...

So cool to see that some still appreciate poetry nowadays! I LOVE Invictus. It's the poem that inspired me to write poems of my own. I also love Edgar Allan Poe's works, such as Annabelle Lee and Raven. Also love Elizabeth Browning's sonnets. Love Robert Frost and William Wadsworth. Of course, can't also forget Jose Rizal.

=)

Ingatz po.

Anonymous said...

kikamz: you did not just say PEDRO Neruda did you? Oh wait, you did! My eyes, my eyes!