Sunday, March 15, 2009

The dawn of a new era

This is the first of a new direction that the Noname blog is going to be taking. My blinker is on, and you have fair warning, so be prepared to turn with me and watch the speed limit.

I will be periodically sharing some of my favorite poetry, accompanied by a brief description of why I like it so dang much. What I'd like to see from my three consistent readers is what you like, and the why. So here's the first. It's called "Queen", and it's written by a Chilean poet named Pablo Neruda. Click his name below to check out more of him.

Queen

I have named you queen,
There are taller ones than you, taller.
There are purer ones than you, purer.
There are lovelier ones than you, lovelier.

But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
no one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
at the carpet of red gold
that you tread as you pass,
the nonexistent carpet.

And when you appear
all the rivers sound
in my body, bells
shake the sky,
and a hymn fills the world.

On you and I,
only you and I, my love
listen to it.

Pablo Neruda

I just love how he admits that there may be "better" ones than her, but she is still the queen. Everyone's lover can't be the prettiest, smartest, tallest, but she can be the queen. I'm for ending the pressure on women to perform, measure up, and be better than others, beginning with my own wife. She's my queen, and that's the truth. We dance to a music that plays for our ears only, and no one can compare with that.

4 comments:

S.D. Smith said...

Very nice. I love the simple eloquence Neruda delivers, the unpretentious expression.

Pretty, truthful poem.

Alexander Field said...

I am huge fan of Pablo Neruda. Love his poetry. In fact, Mr. Neruda was quite a big help in wooing my own wife. : )

Thanks for the turn, and the post.

Jodi said...

"Thrice happy she that is so well assured
Unto herself and settled so in heart
That neither will for better be allured
Ne fears to worse with any chance to start,
But like a steddy ship doth strongly part
The raging waves and keeps her course aright;
Ne aught for tempest doth from it depart,
Ne aught for fairer weather's false delight.
Such self-assurance need not fear the spight
Of grudging foes; ne favour seek of friends;
But in the stay of her own stedfast might
Neither to one herself nor other bends.
Most happy she that most assured doth rest,
But he most happy who such one loves best."
--SPENSER.

The strange spelling is in the original. This has always been a fave of mine because of the excellent picture of womanhood described. I would love to be this woman. It is good motivational poetry =)

Kevin Jack said...

Jodi- That is a cool one. I like it especially because of the grand description of the woman, but at the end it seems that she gets one-upped by the guy...

She is so happy... (then,a dozen lines later)but the one she loves is the MOST happy.

Cool, thanks for sharing.