Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Write, for example,’The night is shattered
and the blue stars shiver in the distance.’
The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.
Through nights like this one I held her in my arms
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.
She loved me sometimes, and I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.
To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.
What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is shattered and she is not with me.
This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
My sight searches for her as though to go to her.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.
The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.
I no longer love her, that’s certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.
Another’s. She will be another’s. Like my kisses before.
Her voide. Her bright body. Her inifinite eyes.
I no longer love her, that’s certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.
Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my sould is not satisfied that it has lost her.
Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her.
"Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines" by Pablo Neruda is a poignant and introspective poem that explores themes of lost love, memory, and the passage of time. Through its emotional language and vivid imagery, the poem delves into the heartache of a love that has ended and the lingering pain that accompanies it.
The poem's title, "Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines," immediately sets the tone of melancholy and reflection. The word "tonight" suggests a moment of solitude and contemplation.
Neruda uses vivid and sensory imagery to evoke the emotions of the speaker. The lines "The night is shattered / and the blue stars shiver in the distance" create a vivid visual and emotional scene, reflecting the shattered state of the speaker's heart.
The poem's repetition of the phrase "Tonight I can write" emphasizes the idea of a specific moment of catharsis and expression. The repetition conveys the intensity of the speaker's feelings and the urgency to capture them in words.
Neruda contrasts the speaker's emotions with the passage of time, describing how the loved one's absence has affected the speaker's life. The image of "the immense night" serves as a metaphor for the vast emptiness left by the lost love.
The poem's closing lines, "Love is so short, forgetting is so long," capture the bittersweet essence of the poem. The brevity of love contrasts with the enduring pain of its absence, highlighting the lasting impact of lost love on the human heart.
"Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines" is a poignant exploration of love and loss, memory and longing. Through its emotional and introspective language, the poem captures the universal experience of heartache and the way that memories of love can continue to linger even after a relationship has ended. It speaks to the enduring power of love to shape our emotions and shape the way we remember our past.
