yes, melissa, this is for you.

a few sonnets by Pablo Neruda from Cien Sonetos de Amor (100 Love Sonnets)

XVII
`
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 in 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: 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.
`
LXVI
`
I do not love you – except because I love you;
I go from loving to not loving you,
from waiting to not waiting for you
my heart moves from the cold into
`
the fire. I love you only because it’s you
I love; I hate you no end, and hating you
bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you
is that I do not see you but love you
`
blindly. Maybe the January light will consume
my heart with its cruel
ray, stealing my key to true
`
calm. In this part of the story I am the one who
dies, the only one, and I will die of love because I love you,
because I love you, Love, in fire and in blood.

sometimes i wish i were falling in love with someone who was falling in love with me too. that feeling must be amazing. so for those who are in love or falling in love, be happy because you are lucky to be feeling the way you’re feeling right now. 🙂