Don’t go far off, not even for a day
Don’t go far off, not even for a day,
Because I don’t know how to say it – a day is long
And I will be waiting for you, as in
An empty station when the trains are
Parked off somewhere else, asleep.
Don’t leave me, even for an hour, because then
The little drops of anguish will all run together,
The smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
Into me, choking my lost heart.
Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve
On the beach, may your eyelids never flutter
Into the empty distance. Don’t LEAVE me for
A second, my dearest, because in that moment you’ll
Have gone so far I’ll wander mazily
Over all the earth, asking, will you
Come back? Will you leave me here, dying?
The pleading here… the capitalization of LEAVE adds so much to the piece. You can actually hear the author’s voice pleading it. Beautiful, poignant, desperate….
[ Smiles ] Thank you for sharing your perspective!
Pablo Neruda — the English translations are always nice for those, like me, who do not understand Spanish. And yet, whenever I have heard his poetry in his native language, I have loved it even more. Blessings and thank you for posting, Alia
[ Smiles ] You are most welcome.