Getting in the Mood

August 21, 2010 | Author: Leslie, Speech, wedding programs

When I attended a good friend’s wedding a while back, the ceremony was started by the host’s reading of this poem. It was the second time I had heard it, the first time was back in college when we were doing some poetry reading but I did not give it much attention then.

It is a very romantic and heart tugging piece and needless to say, the reading put all of us in a very sappy and fluffy mood. Just thought I’d share it now as a little pick me up as you go about your day.

Love Sonnet 17

by Pablo Neruda

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