Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Neruda and rain

It rains today. It had rained yesterday and the day before as well. And a few years back, inside me, around me, in blinding downpours.
There is something about these nascent drops of water, in the wee bit o' quivering life trapped in them. Something that sneers at the pretender in me. All those things that I am not, that I can never be. If not for this world and its suspicious ways. Once I turn my back to them, I like to be me. And the rain makes me just that. It inspires me to sing and dance like the possessed raindrops cascading from the far-flung sky, before the ground swallows them into its dank, mirthless world.

As I watch the reluctant drops trickle off the edges of the yellowed leaves, the rain seeps into me and waters the dry, dusty bylanes of my head. And I start living again.
Just like this baby jade that shows off its grand green glory post a good shower.


When in between such swings of rumination and the chill invading the sock and stealthily climbing up my toes, what better than the trusted, heady combination of tea and poetry? Today it is about love - the unadulterated, unconditional love that Pablo Neruda celebrates in his initially infamous yet oft quoted Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair. Although translated, who else croons love's myriad tunes with such intense perfection? Let it all rush to the head, then!


A few lines close to my heart, from Sonnet XVII:

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this:

where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep."


What do you do when it rains?

8 comments:

  1. Woww,my sentiments exactly..jus like sme1 read my mind and wrote it so beautifully....Totally loved it :D:D

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  2. If I were smart I'd read Neruda and be transported to that hillside in Valparaiso - but since I'm just a worker-bee, I pull up my hood, put my head down and carry on with everyday life.

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  3. A beautiful post. Rain, and more rain today here. I like to settle with a cup of tea and a collection of poems by Jorge Luis Borges.

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  4. Toya, I AM a mind reader, in your case at least!

    Pondside, ah the hillside! But with our beautiful Pacific Northwest laced with the magnificent Cascades, what else does one need?!

    Rajnish, thank you!

    Celine, merci beaucoup!

    P.K, thank you for the visit! So we do have that in common, tea and poetry.

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  5. Zahir, thank you for dropping by!

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