Xvii (I Do Not Love You...) Poem by Pablo Neruda
Xvii (I Do Not Love You...)
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
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!
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'...
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.
bu benim en sevdigim siir cunku seni seviyorum her zaman ama sen olmayacaksin hicbir zaman
can there be any poem on earth better than this? it has one of the most beautiful expressions....
One of my all-time favorites. On a side note, who is here from Patch Adams?
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.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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6/23/2025 10:28:08 AM # 1.0.0
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.