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.
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.
"If You forget me" symbolizes how it will be like when the speaker's lover stops loving him/her or how it will be like if their love doesn't fade away. What the speaker means is that if their love fades away he will be hurt but soon get over it. It seems as if he is letting the person know what will happen if that does occur. In the beginning he starts off by saying he will first care if he/she loses that loved one because throughout the time the pain will faed away. For example, "Well, now,if little by little you stop loving me I shall stop loving you little by little." It is this part when the speaker mentions what will happen if he/she is hurt. Towards the end the speaker says that if that does not happen and it is really true love then he/she will keep loving them until the very end. This happens when the speaker says this: "my love feeds on your love, beloved,and as long as you live it will be in your arms without leaving mine." This shows how things will be like if he/she is not hurt. I think the speaker is very straight forward it seems as if he/she has been hurt before in their past and does not want the same thing to occur in this relationship. I believe this is important in a relationship and this poem really does a well job of it.
ReplyDeletePablo Neruda, implies tone in his poem "If You Forget Me" in order to emphasize the dilemmas that couples might encounter throughout their relationship. It seems as if the speaker finds himself/herself in a long term relationship or marriage and is currently struggling with some sort of trust issue. The tone drastically changes from romantic in the first couple of sentences to bitter. The speaker confesses to his/her lover that everything in this life reminds him/her of that special person. The author implies all types of sensory details in order to illustrate the passionate love that exist between this couple. However, the transition used by the author "Well now..." suggest that every action has cause and effect. The speaker mentions several circumstances that might happen in the course of his/her relationship, only to remind his/her lover that their love might someday come to an end. After this, the tone performs a sudden switch in which goes from bitter to passionate. The last lines of the speaker are of great significance because he/she tries to highlight that if they get through the struggle together, their love would become stronger.
ReplyDelete“If you forget me” talks about love and complications. This poem is about a person who isn’t really sure how they feel. So they are just going to go along with how the other person feels. In stanza three and four describes that the speaker can’t make up his mind, turning to his lover to follow in her foot steps. As well the speaker isn’t trying to make the relationship work just waiting for his lover to make the final move. He is saying that they are separated because of complications. So if she forgets him he will do the same but if she shows any sign that she loves him, he will love her just as much as he did before. The speaker says about love and commitment that it must be given in order to receive it.
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