Xvii (I Do Not Love You...) Poem by Pablo Neruda

Xvii (I Do Not Love You...)

Rating: 4.3


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 does 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.


Translated by Stephen Tapscott

Anonymous Submission

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Anna Sealy 25 November 2009

I love this poem...This is exactly how i feel about the man i've love almost my entire life.It's nice to know that i'm not alone in this.Thank you pablo.

31 9 Reply
Ntsakisi Malabie 07 September 2013

Beautiful.....! Beautiful......Beautiful.......I love you because I know no other way.....that is love right there....love has no reason....it loves because it loves!

30 7 Reply
RR Romac 08 April 2008

I heard this poem first on a televisoin show being read at a funeral. It was so beautiful I searched for it online knowing only a few of the lines... 'I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride'...

23 10 Reply
Macharia Kanyari 06 October 2012

Pablo Neruda is the MAN! ! !

17 14 Reply
Vanessa Goc-ong 17 October 2009

I really love this poem. Love, like life, cannot be fully defined, but Pablo Neruda quite captured it in this poem. Even placed this poem in my wedding invitation.

23 7 Reply
sena peltek 30 October 2023

bu benim en sevdigim siir cunku seni seviyorum her zaman ama sen olmayacaksin hicbir zaman

0 0 Reply
Disha 08 September 2020

can there be any poem on earth better than this? it has one of the most beautiful expressions....

4 0 Reply
RichCout 04 March 2019

@Keegan: Hey Patch! RIP " RW"

0 0 Reply
Keegan 10 January 2019

One of my all-time favorites. On a side note, who is here from Patch Adams?

5 0 Reply
ninja9 12 July 2018

I love you like certain dark things are to be loved. In secret, between shadow and the soul Such beauty! It expresses all the desires one could have in just a single line.

3 0 Reply
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