Pablo Neruda's I Do Not Love You

Pablo Neruda is one of the world's most gifted poets and my most favorite. His poetry is music and love weaved into lyrical perfection.

Let me share with you another Neruda poem which I truly, truly love. Written and published in 1959, here is...

I Do Not Love You (Sonnet XVII)

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.

And here is a video of Robin Williams from the movie Patch Adams with the poem. Emotional.