Love Sonnet XV11

I do not love you as if you were salt,-rose or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off: 
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, 
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries it itself the light of hidden flowers;  
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

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: when 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.

Pablo Neruda (1905 – 1963)
Translated by Stephen Tapscott

This is one of Pablo Neruda’s most famous love sonnets.

S1 … He captures a deep and profound form of love that transcends the surface-level comparisons typical of romantic poetry. Instead of likening love to common symbols of beauty and passion—roses, topaz, or fiery carnations— Neruda uses subtler, more introspective metaphors. He goes to the spiritual essence of a person – between the shadow and the soul.

If you like he finds commonality with his own internal spiritual understanding of self – his own philosophic adherence. The physical aspects are secondary, the spiritual is dominant

The love expressed is not grandiose or performative but intimate, and secretive. And as though words are not needed.

S2 … The imagery of the hidden, non-blooming plant suggests that love exists beneath the surface, silently growing and infusing the self with meaning. Neruda is modest in that he is only partially able to comprehend the love that is internal in his lover – lives darkly in his body, but nevertheless a deep bond.

S3 … I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where — emphasizes love as instinctive inherent characteristic. And a natural force that exists without needing justification or reason.

Neruda’s love is so profound that the boundaries between his lover dissolves. Leading to a union where they are inseparable— so close that your hand upon my chest is mine. But ownership of another person is not an appropriate interpretation.

The sonnet speaks of a love that is not possessive but one where two souls merge into one, becoming indistinguishable from one another. It beautifully explores the idea of love as a force that exists beyond the physical realm, delving into a shared existence. Stephen Tapscott highlights the fact that I and you are no more.

The underlying thought equates true love to the marriage of the mind evoking togetherness as intellectual and emotional compatibility between partners. This concept is famously captured in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, where Shakespeare speaks of love as something constant and unwavering, a union of minds rather than simply physical attraction or fleeting passion.

So true love between a couple can be seen as the marriage of two minds — a connection that transcends physicality and based on mutual respect, trust, and intellectual compatibility. In a broader sense, love also involves physical, as well as spiritual dimensions making it more than just a meeting of the minds.