One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII
BY PABLO NERUDA
TRANSLATED BY MARK EISNER
I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries
the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,
and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose
from the earth lives dimly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,
except in this form in which I am not nor are you,
so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,
so close that your eyes close with my dreams.
We celebrated our 22nd Wedding Anniversary last week and because we had to attend a school event, our anniversary date was watching a movie called "Happiness for Beginners" on the couch. Part of One Hundred Love Sonnets:XVII by Pablo Neruda, was quoted in the movie. At first it feels as if you don't want to be on the receiving end of this poem, because he starts out with describing something beautiful and adds that he doesn't love her in those terms. He then continues to say that he loves his lover as the plant that doesn't bloom, which is equally unflattering. You will notice that it is not the traditional love poem that elevates the lover's virtues; it explains the unfathomable depth, the irrationality of true and lasting love. It is not about the rose-colored glasses or the love is blind to the lover's flaws. Maybe in the beginning of his love he did love her like a rose, topaz or carnations and wanted to explain how his love for her has changed. It is a poem about commitment and a love so deeply forged that the lovers cease to be separate from each other.
I thought back to when I was 19, at the beginning of our relationship. What I loved about my husband
then: I loved that he was the smartest guy in the room and how hard-working he was. I still admire all of that in him. But what I love about him
now:
I love when he walks next to our daughter and grabs her hand. I love how he makes fun of me when I smell the scent of laundry detergent, because he thinks I am obsessed with doing laundry.
I love that he is turning into his Dad when I see him working tirelessly in the garden.