Pablo Neruda Poems: Favorites from Il Postino

If you know me, then you know that I love poetry. Today, in a fit of nostalgia, I suddenly thought of this beautiful poem by Pablo Neruda, "If You Forget Me." When I first read this poem in high school, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with Neruda in general! 

I just love how Madonna reads this poem, "If You Forget Me." (It's from the Il Postino movie soundtrack). If you haven't seen The Postman or Il Postino, then it's worth a looksie, especially if you like poetry. But you don't have to be a poetry lover to enjoy this movie--the cinematography is breathtaking, too. 





The music score from this movie is just superb and I absolutely adore it to pieces! Here's a sample from the main theme from the movie, Il Postino: 


 


My favorite lines from "Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines" are: 


"I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long." 


And, of course, the final couplet is beautiful and bittersweet as the speaker tries to overcome the pain of loss by seeking closure in the only capacity he can--by ending the poem itself:


"Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her." 


Andy Garcia has the perfect voice for this poem:





"I Like for You to be Still"







"If You Forget Me" (English Translation)


I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at 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,
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.


En Español:(In Spanish)

Quiero que sepas
una cosa.

Tú sabes cómo es esto:
si miro
la luna de cristal, la rama roja
del lento otoño en mi ventana,
si toco
junto al fuego
la impalpable ceniza
o el arrugado cuerpo de la leña,
todo me lleva a ti,
como si todo lo que existe:
aromas, luz, metales,
fueran pequeños barcos que navegan
hacia las islas tuyas que me aguardan.

Ahora bien,
si poco a poco dejas de quererme
dejaré de quererte poco a poco.

Si de pronto
me olvidas
no me busques,
que ya te habré olvidado.

Si consideras largo y loco
el viento de banderas
que pasa por mi vida
y te decides
a dejarme a la orilla
del corazón en que tengo raíces,
piensa
que en esa día,
a esa hora
levantaré los brazos
y saldrán mis raíces
a buscar otra tierra.

Pero
si cada día,
cada hora,
sientes que a mí estás destinada
con dulzura implacable,
si cada día sube
una flor a tus labios a buscarme,
ay amor mío, ay mía,
en mí todo ese fuego se repite,
en mí nada se apaga ni se olvida,
mi amor se nutre de tu amor, amada,
y mientras vivas estará en tus brazos
sin salir de los míos.