I'm sitting up, more than half-asleep, sometimes watching, always listening to a contemporary opera. The opera, Il Postino, is based on the movie by the same name. A movie that celebrates life, love, and the written and spoken word. One of the characters in this story is the real-life poet, Pablo Neruda, and another equally important character is his poems that dip, swirl and conjure up wonderfully luscious, evocative images.
In a world where importance is measured by volume, originality is obscured by the outrageous, and truth is an antiquated notion best left for philosophers, the poems of Neruda are easily ignored for something flashier, something edgier, and something with clever, ear-tickling rhymes. But to appreciate Neruda is to allow yourself to enjoy the simplest and most profound themes of life -- love, longing, nature, beauty.
A small sampling of Neruda's poems. Check out:
If You Forget Me
Sonnet XVII
Sonnet LXXXI
No other words needed.
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