a shore where there is peace and quiet...a couple of weeks ago, a friend lent me her collection on poetry and i instantly liked " If You Forget Me" by Pablo Neruda (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1971/neruda-bio.html.) more interesting is the translation, or where it was translated from which is immediately below:
If You Forget Me
- Pablo Neruda
I want you to know
one thing.
You know how this is:
if I lookat the crystal moon,
at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists:
aromas, light, metals,were little boats that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
Well, now,
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.
If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.
But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.
Si Tu Me Olvidas
Si Tu Me Olvidas
Quiero que sepas
una cosa.
T� sabes c�mo es esto:
si miro
la luna de cristal, la rama roja
del lento oto�o en mi ventana,
si toco
junto al fuegola impalpable ceniza
o el arrugado cuerpo de la le�a,
todo me lleva a ti,
como si todo lo que existe:
aromas, luz, metales,
fueran peque�os barcos que navegan
hacia las islas tuyas que me aguardan.
Ahora bien,
si poco a poco dejas de quererme
dejar� de quererte poco a poco.
Si de pronto
me olvidas
no me busques,
que ya te habr� olvidado.
Si consideras largo y loco
el viento de banderas
que pasa por mi vida
y te decides
a dejarme a la orilla
del coraz�n en que tengo ra�ces,
piensa
que en esa d�a,
a esa hora
levantar� los brazos
y saldr�n mis ra�ces
a buscar otra tierra.
Pero
si cada d�a,
cada hora,
sientes que a m� est�s destinada
con dulzura implacable,
si cada d�a sube
una flor a tus labios a buscarme,
ay amor m�o, ay m�a,
en m� todo ese fuego se repite,
en m� nada se apaga ni se olvida,
mi amor se nutre de tu amor, amada,
y mientras vivas estar� en tus brazos
sin salir de los m�os.
