Sonnet XVII from One Hundred Love Sonnets (Cien sonetos de amor)

1I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,   

or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:   

I love you as one loves certain obscure things,   

secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

5I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries   

the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,   

and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose   

from the earth lives dimly in my body.

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

10I love you directly without problems or pride:

I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,

except in this form in which I am not nor are you,   

so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,   

so close that your eyes close with my dreams.

No te amo como si fueras rosa de sal, topacio 
o flecha de claveles que propagan el fuego: 
te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras, 
secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma. 


Te amo como la planta que no florece y lleva 
dentro de sí, escondida, la luz de aquellas flores, 
y gracias a tu amor vive oscuro en mi cuerpo 
el apretado aroma que ascendió de la tierra. 


Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde, 
te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo: 
así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera, 


sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres, 
tan cerca que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mía, 
tan cerca que se cierran tus ojos con mi sueño. 


Translated by Mark Eisner
Pablo Neruda, “One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII” from The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems, edited by Mark Eisner. Copyright © 2004 City Lights Books.


After reading this poem, I think that it describes love in its purest sense. It's a quiet, self-reflective kind of love for another person. Some of the lines such as when the speaker compares his love with a flower reminded me of a well-known bible verse: 1 Corinthians 13:4: "Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud..."
I have also added a video at the bottom of one of my favorite poets reciting this sonnet, and I feel that I have gained a better understanding of the poem after listening to it.


Anaphora: Reptition of "I love you":
"I love you as one loves certain obscure things" (3)
"I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries" (5)
"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,/I love you directly without problems or pride:/I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love" (9-11)
Hyperbole: "carnations that propagate fire" (2) Carnations don't release flames, but its vibrant red color can represent the fiery passion of love.
Enjambment:

"I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries   

the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,   

and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose   

from the earth lives dimly in my body." (4-8)