**The Captain's Verses by Pablo Neruda: A Timeless Tapestry of Love and Passion**

Pablo Neruda, the renowned Nobel Prize winner for Literature, penned The Captain's Verses in 1952 during his exile on the idyllic island of Capri. This was the same setting that later became famous through the blockbuster film Il Postino. Surrounded by the beauty of the sea, the warmth of the sun, and the natural splendors of Capri, Neruda addressed these poems to his lover Matilde Urrutia before their marriage. However, they were not publicly published until 1963.

This complete, bilingual collection has since become a classic for love-struck readers worldwide. It is passionately sensuous and bursts with all the erotic energy of a new love. The poems are a celebration of love in all its forms, from the gentle caress of a breeze to the fierce intensity of a lover's gaze.

Take, for example, the lines: "Take the air away from me, not your laughter / Take bread away from me, if you wish, / take air away, but / do not take from me your laughter." Here, Neruda uses powerful imagery to convey the importance of his lover's laughter in his life. It is as essential as air and bread, and without it, he feels as if he would die.

The Captain's Verses is a must-read for anyone who has ever been in love or who appreciates the beauty and power of poetry. It is a timeless work that will continue to touch the hearts and souls of readers for generations to come.

Los Versos Del Capitán = The Captain's Verses, Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda, ganador del Premio Nobel de Literatura, terminó de escribir Los Versos Del Capitán en 1952 mientras estaba en exilio en la isla de Capri - el entorno paradisíaco para la película de éxito Il Postino (El Cartero).

Rodeado por el mar, el sol y los esplendores naturales de Capri, Neruda dirigió estos poemas a su amante Matilde Urrutia antes de que se casaran, pero no los publicó públicamente hasta 1963.

Esta colección completa, bilingüe, se ha convertido en un clásico para los lectores enamorados de todo el mundo - apasionadamente sensuosa y explotando con toda la energía erótica de un nuevo amor.

\\n  Quítame el aire, no tu risa
Quítame el pan, si quieres,
quítame el aire, pero
no me quites tu risa.

No me quites la rosa,
la lanza de la flor que cavas,
el agua que de pronto
estalla en alegría,
la ola repentina
de plata nacida en ti.

Mi lucha es dura y vuelvo
con los ojos cansados
a veces de haber visto
la tierra inmutable,
pero cuando tu risa entra
sube al cielo buscándome
y me abre todas
las puertas de la vida.

Mi amor, en la más oscura
hora tu risa
se abre, y si de pronto
ves mi sangre manchando
las piedras de la calle,
ríe, porque tu risa
será para mis manos
como una espada fresca.

Junto al mar en otoño,
tu risa debe elevar
su cascada espumosa,
y en primavera, amor,
quiero tu risa como
la flor que esperaba,
la flor azul, la rosa
de mi país que ecoa.

Ríe de la noche,
del día, de la luna,
ríe de las calles torcidas
de la isla,
ríe de este torpe
niño que te ama,
pero cuando abro
mis ojos y los cierro,
cuando mis pasos van,
cuando mis pasos vuelven,
negarme pan, aire,
luz, primavera,
pero nunca tu risa
porque moriría.\\n

Fecha de la primera lectura: octubre de 1996

Título: Quítame el aire, no tu risa - Elección de poemas de amor (Versos del Capitán); Autor: Pablo Neruda; Traductor: Ahmad Poury; Teherán, Publicación del manantial, año 1374; en 104 páginas; Tercera edición en 1377; ISBN X-964619432; Otro título: Los acordes del capitán; Cuarta edición en 1378; Quinta y sexta edición en 1380; Séptima edición en 1381; Octava edición en 1382; Doceava y treceava edición en 1385; Diecisieteava y dieciochoava edición en 1387; Diecinueveava edición en 1388; Vigésima edición en 1387; Vigésima primera edición en 1389; Vigésima segunda edición en 1390; ISBN 9789646194328; Vigésima quinta edición en 1393; Tema: Poesía de poetas españoles de lengua chilena - Siglo 20

Quítame el aire, no tu risa
Quítame el aire, no tu risa!;
Quítame el pan, si quieres
Quítame el aire, pero
No me quites tu risa
Quítame la rosa roja
La azucena que cavas
El agua que de repente
En la alegría brota

Una ola repentina de plata
Que en ti brota
Después de una dura lucha vuelvo
Con ojos cansados
Que han visto el mundo
Sin ningún cambio
Pero tu risa que se libera
Y los pájaros en el cielo me buscan
Todas las puertas de la vida
Se abren para mí
Mi amor, tu risa
En el momento más oscuro se abre

Y si ves, de repente
Mi sangre fluye por las piedras de la calle
Ríe, porque tu risa
Para mis manos
Es una espada afilada

Tu risa, en otoño
Junto al mar
Debe elevar su cascada espumosa

Y en primavera, mi amor
Quiero tu risa
Como una flor que esperaba

Ríe de la noche
Del día, de la luna
Ríe de los callejones torcidos de la isla
Ríe de este niño torpe
Que te ama

Pero cuando abro y cierro mis ojos
Cuando mis pies van y vuelven

Quítame el pan, el aire
La luz, la primavera

Pero nunca tu risa

Hasta que mis ojos se cierren para siempre
Pablo Neruda

Fecha de publicación: 13/09/1399 H. solar; 06/08/1400 H. solar; A. Sharbiani

This article is about the author's experience with reading a book by Neruda. The author had visited Neruda's lovely houses in Chile and had been meaning to read some of his works ever since. The book, which included poems like "Little America" and "Odes and Burgeonings", was quite beautiful, but not as impressive as the houses. The author's favorite section was "Las Vidas", and some of the imagery was very powerful. However, the author also found Neruda arrogant and self-centered at times, as if his lover Mathilde existed only for him. Additionally, the author felt that Neruda used the same language a lot throughout the book, which made it seem repetitive. Despite these flaws, the author still really liked the book and would read Neruda again.

your beauty then

not only lights the fire

that burns unquenched among us

but with your love it is calling to me

and across your life

it is giving me the life that I lack

and to the taste of your love is added the clay,

the kiss of the earth that waits for me.



~from Little America



This book was quite beautiful. I've been meaning to read some Neruda ever since I visited his LOVELY houses in Chile (he was Chilean, the first South American to be a Nobel Laureate (fun fact)) -- https://sparrowsflysouth.blogspot.co..... I have to say, the book wasn't quite as impressive as the houses, but I did enjoy it! Las Vidas was my favourite section. Some of the imagery was very powerful.



I did find him arrogant and self-centred at times -- "You know that I am not just one man / but all men" (The Dead Woman) -- as if his lover Mathilde, the subject of this book, exists only for him, as a backdrop to his struggles. He often described her in terms of the earth, which was sometimes empowering (like in Little America, one of my favourite poems), but sometimes objectifying. Also, he used the same language a lot throughout, to the point where it felt like every poem was just earth-sky-land-breasts-love-hair-nipples-wheat-gold-clay. But I still really liked this book, and would read Neruda again.



life,

afterward, could put all

the seas and the earth

between us, and we could come together

in spite of space,

step by step seeking each other,

from once ocean to another,

until I saw that the sky was aflame

and your hair was flying in the light

and you came to my kisses with the fire

of an unchained meteor

and as you melted in my blood, the sweetness

of the wild plum

of our childhood I received in my mouth,

and I clutched you to my breast as

if I were regaining earth and life.



~ from Odes and Burgeonings

In the night, we shall go in

to steal

a flowering branch.

We will stealthily climb over the wall

in the darkness of the alien garden,

where we are just two shadows among the shadows.

Winter has not yet completely departed,

but suddenly the apple tree seems

to have changed into a magnificent cascade of fragrant stars.

In the night, we shall venture in

up to its trembling firmament,

and with your little hands and mine,

we will steal those beautiful stars.

And then, silently,

we will return to our house,

in the night and the shadow,

where with your steps will enter

the silent step of perfume

and with starry feet,

the clear body of spring will grace our home.

Es bonito, poesía clásica hispana. It truly is beautiful, Hispanic classical poetry. As I have reread these poems at this stage of my life, with all that I have now learned, it has surprised me how violent and misogynistic romantic love is, the kind in which we were educated and learned to adore. How sad that this still seems so beautiful to me.

The Tiger

I am the tiger. I lurk among the leaves as wide as ingots of wet mineral. The white river rises under the fog. You arrive.

Naked, you submerge. I wait.

Then, in a leap of fire, blood, teeth, with a swipe I knock down your chest, your hips. I drink your blood, break your limbs one by one.

And I remain on watch for years in the jungle, your bones, your ashes, immobile, far from hatred and anger, disarmed in your death, crossed by the vines, immobile in the rain, an implacable sentinel of my murderous love.

Pablo is truly unique when it comes to speaking of love. Few can express so much with so little as he does. And even fewer can make you think so deeply about love in such an elegant way. He approaches the topic of love from so many different angles that the word "abstract" seems insufficient to describe the feeling his reasoning leaves you with. After that, he makes you question... What the hell is love? And to top it off, he always leaves you with his social critiques that can break down anyone, more or less like this:

The Mountain and the River

In my homeland, there is a mountain.

In my homeland, there is a river.

Come with me.

The night climbs the mountain.

Hunger descends to the river.

Come with me.

Who are those who suffer?

I don't know, but they are mine.

Come with me.

I don't know, but they call me

and tell me "We suffer."

Come with me.

And they say to me: "Your people,

your unfortunate people,

between the mountain and the river,

with hunger and pain,

do not want to fight alone,

they are waiting for you, friend."

Oh you, the one I love,

small, red grain

of wheat,

the struggle will be hard,

life will be hard,

but you will come with me.

My beauty,

Your eyes are extremely large for your face,

Your eyes are extremely large for the earth.

It is a high land, it is a high river.

In your eyes,

I pass among them,

They light up the world

And I pass among them,

My beauty.

In this land,

From the feet to the prehistory,

Walking, walking, walking,

I will waste my life.

This passage seems to express a sense of determination or perhaps a bit of resignation in the face of a certain situation. It could imply that the speaker is ready to endure or perhaps even embrace a particular path in life, regardless of what it may bring. Maybe they feel that their journey in this land is one that requires them to keep walking, step by step, and that they are willing to do so, even if it means sacrificing or "wasting" their life in the process. It could also suggest a sense of connection to the land itself, as if the act of walking through it is an essential part of their existence and identity. Overall, the simple yet powerful language used in this passage leaves room for interpretation and invites the reader to consider their own relationship with the places they inhabit and the paths they choose to take in life.

Neruda is a poet whom I believe I will always have a certain fondness for, yet he will never quite reach the status of being among my absolute favorites. Having said that, this collection has touched me just as profoundly as his other works that I have perused. There were several remarkable poems, such as "If You Forget Me," "Not Only the Fire," "The Infinite One," and "The Earth." Overall, I simply cherish the narrative that runs through this entire collection. It allows you to trace the things he adores about his beloved, and in turn, provides the reader with the opportunity to fall in love with her as well.

On a structural level, the aspect that I value the most when reading Neruda is that every collection I have ever come across presents both the original Spanish and the English translation. To me, this indicates a commitment to recognizing poetry as something deeply rooted in language, rather than just meaning. A poem can be translated and still be very beautiful, but it will simply not be the same without the intended sonics and visuals of the original language. So, although I can only read snippets of the Spanish poems, I truly appreciate having the option to do so.

«y así besan la vida nuestros besos
todo el amor en nuestro amor se encierra
toda la sed termina en nuestro abrazo»

This beautiful stanza seems to convey a profound and passionate message about love.

Our kisses, it suggests, are like a way to embrace life itself. In our love, all the love in the world is somehow contained.

And every thirst, every longing, finds its end in our embrace.

It's a poetic and romantic description that makes one imagine a love so intense and fulfilling.

The words "ok this shit is cute af" might seem a bit out of place after such a beautiful and profound stanza, but perhaps it shows the speaker's immediate and visceral reaction to the beauty of the words.

Overall, this combination of the stanza and the comment creates an interesting contrast between the elegance and depth of the poetry and the more casual and modern expression of appreciation.

I named her Turan Banu.

She is much taller than you, taller.

She is much more graceful than you, more graceful.

She is much more beautiful than you, more beautiful.

But Banu, you.

From the street where you walk.

You don't attract anyone's gaze.

No one sees your crystal crown.

No one casts a glance at the red and golden floor beneath your feet.

And when you appear.

All the rivers come to a melody.

In my body.

The colors are shattering the sky.

And a song fills the world.

Only you and I.

Are listening to that.

This poem seems to be comparing Turan Banu with someone else. Turan Banu is described as having certain qualities like being tall, graceful, and beautiful. However, the person being addressed, Banu, is said to not attract much attention on the street despite having a crystal crown and a red and golden floor beneath her feet. But when Banu appears, something magical happens. The rivers come to a melody, the colors shatter the sky, and a song fills the world. It is only the speaker and Banu who are listening to this. The poem creates a vivid image and a sense of mystery and beauty.

From the book

- If fate strikes again
It will be broken

If your hand
Guides you in another way
It will wither
......

This passage seems to convey a sense of uncertainty and vulnerability in the face of fate and the choices we make. The idea that if fate repeats its blows, something will be shattered implies a lack of control over our circumstances. Similarly, the notion that if our hand leads us astray, something will wither suggests that our actions have consequences that we may not fully anticipate. It makes us reflect on the power of fate and the importance of making wise decisions. We often find ourselves at the mercy of forces beyond our control, but we also have the ability to shape our own destinies through our choices and actions. This passage serves as a reminder to be mindful of both the external factors that influence our lives and the internal ones that drive our decisions.

The gift you brought me is nearly as beautiful as you are, Shannon. Thank you so much. ;)

As the saying goes, "I could not walk except with you, and I could not sing except when you sing." This truly reflects the special connection we share. Your presence in my life has made such a significant difference. It's as if you are the melody that makes my life's song complete. The way you care and the thoughtfulness you show in bringing me this wonderful gift only strengthen the bond between us. I am so grateful to have you in my life, and I look forward to many more memories and experiences together with you by my side.