Sing In Silence
Pablo Neruda, poet-reveolutionary-a human being.
One of the most extraordinary poets to have emerged in the 20th century, Neruda's verse has a haunting simplicity about it that captures so perfectly the rhythms of everyday existence. This is a but a sample.
" If I die, survive me with such sheer force
that you waken the furies of the pallid and the cold,
from south to south lift your indelible eyes,
from sun to sun dream through your singing mouth.
I don't want your laughter or your steps to waver,
I don't want my heritage of joy to die.
Don't call up my person. I am absent.
Live in my absence as if in a house so vast
that inside you will pass through its walls
and hang pictures on the air.
Absence is a house so transparent
that I, lifeless, will see you, living,
and if you suffer, my love, I will die again.
One of the most extraordinary poets to have emerged in the 20th century, Neruda's verse has a haunting simplicity about it that captures so perfectly the rhythms of everyday existence. This is a but a sample.
" If I die, survive me with such sheer force
that you waken the furies of the pallid and the cold,
from south to south lift your indelible eyes,
from sun to sun dream through your singing mouth.
I don't want your laughter or your steps to waver,
I don't want my heritage of joy to die.
Don't call up my person. I am absent.
Live in my absence as if in a house so vast
that inside you will pass through its walls
and hang pictures on the air.
Absence is a house so transparent
that I, lifeless, will see you, living,
and if you suffer, my love, I will die again.
posted by Namrata | 10:29 pm
7 Comments:
Namrata (or Gitler here)!
Well beautiful sample, indeed. I particularly loved the last couple of lines. I have read the poem thrice and though I find it beautiful, I am not able to unravel it completely. I believe in the fact that, especially in poetry, the hidden flowers are more redolent than the ones which bloom explicitly, if any. Well, I acknowledge the thought's emergence from Keats' melodies of course.
Beautiful blog by the way! One exclusively for poetry. Good to see that in a world stinted prose verse does play a role. Trust me, the balm is something that never fails to assuage me.
not a poetry person.. but this is an absolutely amazing one.
Hey nam. Looks like you picked a gem! Really awesome poem, this. I loved the last two lines and the whole simile/metaphor of the house. Pretty unusual i think...
Neruda's a genius. Indescribable.
wow.
You sure know how to pick up the best. I'm glad I took out the time to visit today. I hope you don't mind if I use a copy of this? It's really really good. I always thought simplicity was the best... And after reading this I'm doubly sure it is.. He's used such a simple style, and yet he's said everything that needs to be said.
Thanks for posting this!
ALL: nice to Neruda being appreciated. I don't think we give him enough iportance these days. Will be postng more shortly. This time from Eliot..my all time favourite.
brilliant...
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