El Mejor del Mejor: The 3 Neruda Poems that I think you should know about... (t2)

     Here we are, as promised. I read them, I dissected them, and so should you. Bienvenidos to my favorite poemas by Pablo Neruda.

1.  XVII ( I do not love you...)

   Let's start with one of Neruda's famous love poems. I think what makes this poem most popular is the way it draws you in with the bold statement of "I do not love you as if you were salt-rose or topaz". Obviously, the reader wants to stick around and see how the speaker does love the intended. The next few lines are definitely shrouded in more mystery. Mentions of "shadow and soul" and a fragrance that "lives darkly" add a fantasy air. But then Neruda packs this great straightforward punch: "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/". In general, this poem has my favorite hallmark of romance: begin with a surprise, timidly approach your intentions, and then sweep the reader off their feet with something sincere and magical.

2. Luminous mind, bright devil 

    I won't lie. I'm not sure what this poem is even about. But I like the way it flows, the fact that even if I can't pick out the devices that make this a successful poem, they work anyway. As far as I believe, Neruda repeatedly references "the mind and love" (perhaps the luminous mind and bright devil?) battling until, alone, they reach a balance, after facing "decisions harder than the dreams of a hammer." As someone who's seen her share of battles between el mente and el corazón, Neruda describes this struggle beautifully as it reaches a point were "transparency was built."

3. The United Fruit Co.

    This poem is basically an expose on the evils of U.S. businesses and the ravages they wrecked on Latin America, and it is written deeply. In this poem, "The Fruit Company Inc." strips the best parts of Latin America, overstepping all the authority and rights of the people. They attract "flies", or various dictators. The last stanza drives the anger, mourning, and bitterness home: "Meanwhile Indians are falling/ into the sugared chasms/ of the harbours, wrapped/ for burials in the mist of the dawn:/ a body rolls, a thing/ that has no name, a fallen cipher,/ a cluster of the dead fruit /thrown down on the dump.

There you have it; three Neruda poems to make you feel more intelligent, and hopefully to peak your curiosity in this champion of a poet.