Hearts Day

In honor of the feast of Saint Valentine, I am posting one of my favorite love poems. A beautiful sonnet by Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet and diplomat. A poignant yet melancholic poem which reminds me of someone.
A person I refer to as my Global Soul Mate. He has never given me chocolates, flowers or even a single card for any occasion. We might never have held hands nor kiss or even embraced yet he always inspire(d) me. He regaled me by conversing about everything from existentialism to neorealism. He entertained me with his extensive knowledge about the fine art of cinema. He impressed me by drawing parallels from certain beliefs like stoicism with our daily existence. Fond thoughts about him make me smile yet at the same time I have also cried buckets of tears over him. In fact I still do from time to time. His sporadic presence in my life nowadays make me miss him so much. Yet I am also happy that his life is now slowly yet surely coming full circle. So even if he wasn't mine to have and hold and probably never will be, I have vowed that 'I'll be loving him eternally.'

OK I will stop being mushy and let you read the poem, already.

Love Sonnet XVII
I do not love you as if you were salt rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
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;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love because I know no other way than this:

where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep