One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII
I donโt love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz, ย or arrow of carnations that propagate fire: ย I love you as one loves certain obscure things, ย secretly, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that doesnโt bloom but carries ย the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself, ย and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose ย from the earth lives dimly in my body. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, ย I love you directly without problems or pride: I love you like this because I donโt know any other way to love, except in this form in which I am not nor are you, ย so close that your hand upon my chest is mine, ย so close that your eyes close with my dreams.
- Pablo Neruda, โOne Hundred Love Sonnets: XVIIโ from The Essential Neruda: Selected Poemsโ












