Valentines

Last night I saw the American Repertory Theatre’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. My favorite part of the production was the aerial fairies floating and somersaulting over the stark set (see Boston Globe review). Very enjoyable.

The last couple of days I was looking for something poetic to post for the Valentine’s Day weekend. Tonio posted his own wonderful green valentine. And I discovered this morning some thoughtful quotes on love by bell hooks at Never Neutral. But the ever-changing passions in the play last night reminded me most of one of Pablo Neruda's poems in 100 Love Sonnets / Cien sonetos de amor. (In English followed by the original Spanish.)

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 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 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.

--

No te quiero sino porque te quiero

y de quererte a no quererte llego

y de esperarte cuando no te espero

pasa mi corazón del frío al fuego.

Te quiero sólo porque a ti te quiero,

te odio sin fin, y odiándote te ruego,

y la medida de mi amor viajero

es no verte y amarte como un ciego.

Tal vez consumirá la luz de enero,

su rayo cruel, mi corazón entero,

robándome la llave del sosiego.

En esta historia sólo yo me muero

y moriré de amor porque te quiero,

porque te quiero, amor, a sangre y fuego.

4:04:50 PM      trackback []