If You Forget Me
By Pablo Neruda
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.
But
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.
This poem was very relatable to me as well as very moving. I was in a relationship for four years and discovered it was impossible to maintain at that point. I actually have lost all contacts with this person. At one point in time this poem was how I felt while going through the sticky breakup. I think that this poem is easily relatable to many others who have been in love and then suddenly lost it. However Pablo Neruda describes these feelings and thoughts so beautifully.
The poem has a nice flow to it. I like that it doesn’t need to rhyme to have this flow either. It sounds almost like a love song or even a letter to a former and astray lover. The beginning is very direct “I want you to know one thing. You know how this is.” It gives the reader a definite idea of not only what the poem is about but who this poem is to. I also love the metaphors in the poem, referring his love as roots in the soil.
The poet basically is saying not only does everything he encounter reminds him of his lover, but also whatever his lovers choice is he will follow. What ever happens with your feelings, I will feel the same way is the basic point of the poem. I think this perfectly describes how I felt at one point in time. A feeling of if you love me forever, I will love you forever, if you forget me, I have already forgotten you. My favorite part of the poem is “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.” I think that this is my favorite part because it was exactly what happened to me.
