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.
Annejb Said:
on September 11, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I like that you went into great detail about what the poem meant to you. What i have learned from past relationships myself and what this poem kind of spoke to me about it that love is not easy, its something that has to be worked at and fought for. Good choice of a poem.
liveandlearn4 Said:
on September 12, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I really enjoyed hearing this poem. I never read it before and when I read it I felt that I could relate. My favorite lines in this poem are “If suddenly you forget me do not look for me, for I shall already have forgotten you.” I like those lines because I feel that in this stage in life, in college, people come and go. If you meet someone who you will never forget then you might have a life long friend. But you need to care about yourself and realize that some people will not be as kind as others and will use you. If a relationship ends badly, this is a good motto to follow. Don’t chase anyone, if he or she forgets you, then you should forget about them and realize that those people shouldn’t matter as much as others.
farfromfalling Said:
on September 14, 2008 at 2:30 am
I really like this poem too I have a mutual feeling for it as well. I really like the points you made with your quotes and how open you were.
poetryprof Said:
on September 14, 2008 at 2:50 am
Great post! Definitely what I am looking for in a blog post — heartfelt and yet thoughtful, examples from the poem and your own ideas as well. Very good work!
nightwrighter Said:
on September 15, 2008 at 1:57 am
I agree with you that this is poem emphasizes how important it is for love to be mutual. Neruda so beautifully writes over and over again how his lover’s feelings affect his own. My favorite line that reflects this idea besides the one you quoted is in the last stanza: “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.” I like this line because it is so true that love can fade when the passion of just one lover fades. I’m sorry to hear about the four year break up. I hope your ok because I know that must be really difficult. I just want to say thanks for the post though I really enjoyed it very much.
m1ssyou Said:
on September 15, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I posted about this poem earlier but under that silly welcome post by mistake. Anyways if you didn’t catch it, this is what I said. “I think it’s great that you are able to use your past experience to have such insight to this poem. The thing that I like about this poem is that it allows the reader to feel like they are engaged because it is directed to them. Using you and I instead of him,her, some name or fictional character makes the poem very personable. This poem tears at your heart a little but because its so beautifully written we embrace it completely.”
worldofwords18 Said:
on September 15, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I remember reading this poem somewhere and liking it a lot. As you said it is easy to relate to, especially after being in a serious relationship and then going through the tough break up. I was in a relationship a little over a year ago that was like that. We were serious and I loved him and then he made up an excuse as to why we should break up, but managed to lead me on for over a month. It’s hard to forget it all, but to almost mirror what the other person is doing is easy. I think this poem sort of shows a mirror. In the way that it says “if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little” and “If suddenly
you forget me, do not look for me, for I shall already have forgotten you.” Both of these lines show that the writer is almost mimicking the person they are writing too. The line that caught my eye happened to be the same that you had picked out- “If you think it long and mad…to seek another land.” I liked this line a lot because it is so true to life. If he goes off and forgets and decides that this love is not worth his time or what he wants, then I too will lift off and move on with my life and begin anew.
very nice poem and great ways of portraying what the author meant.
secretkeeper11 Said:
on September 16, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I’ve always found Neruda to read even better in Spanish. It always makes me wonder how much I’m missing by not knowing more languages.
helluvawriter Said:
on September 18, 2008 at 1:26 pm
This is a really great poem, because the topic of love is a very real matter to anyone, and it illustrates how much someone can make you feel for them but also how fragile it is. I like the lines “you decide
to leave me at the shore of the heart where I have roots… I shall lift my arms and my roots will set off to seek another land.” He’s basically saying that if the love she had for him fades, so will his. Love still exsits for that person but it’s not debilitating where he can’t move on himself.
poetryprof Said:
on October 1, 2008 at 1:06 am
Wow! Lots of comments here. artsy, while you do not have to respond to everyone, it is kinda customary to do so on blogs.