He was a poet, diplomat, bohemian and political activist. He was born Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto but borrowed his pen name from another poet; Jan Neruda. He was a controversial character. A diplomat and senator from Chile he embraced communism and wrote poetry in tribute to Stalin and Castro. You don’t have to agree with his politics to appreciate the sincerity in his work. The man was an artist; a heartfelt poet who won the Nobel Prize in literature.
Words are words no matter who wrote them and some messages are bigger than the messenger. As a writer there are times I feel I am only a conduit for something else. A something that whispers ever so softly in my ear. I only write what is given to me; words. And it’s the words of Neruda that I celebrate today. The dark dreamy words that evoke images of a hothouse world; a lush tropical jungle where love scintillates along the cool breeze of the night. He brought to his poetry a sense of quiet longing, of sadness and regret but with a spirit that burned… fiery passion and darkness; wanton and thirsty.
When I read his words I am transported to this world….I become a hothouse flower sipping in the cool night air, gazing up at the midnight stars that dare shine through the gaps between the leaves of the trees. Themes of bittersweet longing; of lust and love and all in between. Neruda puts his heart out there with brushstrokes of raw emotion tinged with the fragility of love that weaves itself between the lines of this beautiful poetry.
Fantastic writing.
😀
Have a nice day and enjoy the Neruda.
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Nancy
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FRESH QUOTES: PABLO NERUDA
The words of Pablo Neruda
“I should like to sleep like a cat,
with all the fur of time,
with a tongue rough as flint,
with the dry sex of fire;
and after speaking to no one,
stretch myself over the world,
over roofs and landscapes,
with a passionate desire
to hunt the rats in my dreams.”◊
“And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us.”
◊
“And I, infinitesimal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
I felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind.”
◊
“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”
◊
“At night I dream that you and I are two plants
that grew together, roots entwined,
and that you know the earth and the rain like my mouth,
since we are made of earth and rain.”
◊
“I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.”
◊
“I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.”
◊
◊
“So I wait for you like a lonely house
till you will see me again and live in me.
Till then my windows ache.”
◊
Pablo Neruda July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973) was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after the Czech poet Jan Neruda. In 1971 Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
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Inspired tunes
Francisco Tarrega – Capricho Arabe by Andrés Segovia
BOLERO-RAVEL
References and related articles
Pablo Neruda (wikipedia.org )
Pablo Neruda Bio (infoplease.com)
What a wonderful selection of his words, and photos to go with them!
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Thanks Janet, Poetry is a fairly recent love of mine. I am especially enjoying works translated into English from another language. These fantastic works have been a major influence as of late.
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I love Neruda too, ever since college. Especially his love poems and sensuality…just his words. So lovely. 🙂
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Hey Niaaeryn, Yes. His work does evoke sensual imagery which can be very lovely indeed. 🙂
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Nancy they are great quotes , I love them and I didn’t know this man. Thanks for introducing him to us!
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Thanks so much Ute. He is new to me as well. It is wonderful to have such a wealth of great works from great writers who have come before who can inspire us.
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He is one of the bestest!
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Yes he is. 🙂 Thanks.
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I think I’m glad I discovered Pablo before I learned of his politics. Perhaps the words would have touched me in spite of them, but it’s not certain they might not have been tainted.
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You know Gunta, I was thinking the very same thing before I got to your comment. I’m glad that the words were more powerful than the man. In fact the whole subject of insightful quotes from controversial figures has got me a thinking. hmmmm….who knows a future blog post perhaps. 🙂
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Sigh! How wonderful all those words are. So romantic and sensuous. Thank you for sharing these quotes Nancy, and I really enjoyed your intro to them too! 🙂
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Hi Cathy! I’m glad you liked them. I have been really getting into poetry the last few years, Neruda is a relatively recent discovery of mine. I have been especially fascinated in poetry written in another language and translated in English. The process seems to lend and extra something to it, like a spice. Of course it would be wonderful to read poetry in its native language but I am lucky to be able to read the language I do….haha. I bet you have a interesting perspective on all this.
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It is definitely an advantage being able to understand German poetry or literature in the original language, as something always gets lost in translation, whether it’s rhythm, puns on words, the sound of the words together etc. German isn’t a very melodiuos language, but I do rather like some poetry in German! ‘m glad you’re enjoying getting to know new poets. Hope you share some more one day! 🙂
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Perhaps a German poet? hmmmm…. 😉
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Food for thought… 🙂
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Like yummy chocolate covered strawberries. 😉
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😀
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lovely share,enjoyed reading
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Thank you Soumyav for your thoughtful words.
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Very wonderful Nancy!
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Thanks for the very wonderful comment Juan. 😉 Hope you are well my friend.
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I had thought Pablo Narida died of a broken heart but I’ve been told I was wrong…
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I think he did. If anyone could it would be him. Makes a person think..
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I was told he died not of a broken heart… He was a verboten poet here because of the poems to Fidel and Stalin… That too did pass…
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I am well and full speed ahead. I am starting to get rid of stuff.. I hope you are well… I might have changed my goal from tiny house to air stream trailer..
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I’m pretty good, enjoying the outside. It’s good to hear you are well. A trailer sounds nice, very mobile. You can go see the world in it.
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Awesome poetry and perfect pictures to match the scenarios.
Great job!
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Hi Teecee, Thanks so much. I had an enjoyable time doing it.
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Wow!
That’s so good to know.
Enjoy!
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I do not agree with Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto’s politics, but is he, or was he, an artist to admire. Your choice of photos is superb.
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Hello Newsferret. Thanks for your kind comments. It is good thing to be able to appreciate art for it’s own sake.
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