Sonnet xxvi (Love's Name)

‘I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,  
in secret, between the shadow and the soul  

I love you as the plant that never blooms  
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers.’  
 
                                    -Pablo Neruda  
 
 
Deep in the hollow heart  
a flame tries to be born;
it sparks and flickers,
it only thinks of you.  
It knows it must be born  
for you require its warmth.  
It is as a star to those who gaze  
at the sky, milky and wide.  
It knows its life will be short  
compared to the eternity of most things.  
It knows itself to be a shooting star  
that dies in spite of itself  
after the brightest blaze it can effect;  
it burns itself for love, only love, its taste  
lingers on the night air.  
 
What was that flame I felt,  
what was your name, love, love,  
I always knew you cared;  
when I closed my eyes you were always there  
and still you were singed by my longing for you.  
You were frozen in my lacking, needing.  
Still, I only knew you by your name, love, love  
and it was I alone who lit the flame.  
 
It was you burning in those embers  
glowing in the dark,  
it was you rising; a ghost in the fire,
a resurrection of my heart.  
You were the scent of all the  
unbloomed flowers which  
permeated my soul darkly,  
solidly and straightforwardly.  
 
I knew no other way to love you  
so your arms became mine.  
The light of your embrace  
became mine for you.  
The dark of your heart  
became my heart  
and somewhere  
between my soul and my shadow  
my love for you was born.
 
          .....  
 
#Pablo Neruda