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if you forget me by Pablo Neruda Nobel Laurette Stans imagery

if you forget me by Pablo Neruda Nobel Laurette

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.
Pablo Neruda

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Comments

A wonderful compliment to Neruda, on of my favorites. One of his styles is the short line approach which you have picked up and use often. He is a great poet to be influenced by. A good choice with so many goodies from him. Nice job!

If you have not, see the film "Neruda" which just came out, a very fine biographical film about him with a small twist of a plot based on history.

Eumolpus
I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance
ee cummings

i read only SHAKESPEARE IN SENIORS CAMBRIDGE
I have been composing since ages
@ 9 years age.
I started with ACROSTIC
not knowing what it was ...

My minds own creation .

I used to compose
only
Western Style poems
RICHARDSON Harrison of Australia edited two.
Then I found too much monotony
in mundane poetry

Many publishers liked my work
a guy said
LOVE LETTERS IN ENGLISH VERSE
I got worse.none published me verse

I started composing
in my own style
till a guy on yahoo picked me up to say
well done son... but do like this etc etc
He was perhaps 3/4 th my age then

I again re- began
I have composed more than 15000 plus poems
as per jess== MACHINE GUN POET!!!!

Pablo I just came across in the last six months
WHEN I was trying to find
NOBEL WINNERS
in Poetry very few.
I am no match... nor in line
and if jess reads this
he will have a heart break

Lovedly a poet!
fuck him
a Gem in a million
so does the ocean churn
a similar pearl
like me

Thanks Sir Regards
to thee

author comment

who have such an active muse.
I have put in my 10,000 hours+...you would think by now I'd be a pro!

Glad you found Neruda. There are several other Latin American poets last century that were terrific-
notably Cesar Vallejo and Jorge Borges. I also enjoy translation, as I speak some Spanish.

"Machine gun poet". I'll remember that!

Eumolpus
I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance
ee cummings

10000 hours professor
i would have composed
ten times that the world over
may be alien
why go ancient
Neruda was Chilean

author comment
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