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the single light shining at the center of all things. Neruda does not describe that light, and perhaps he does not see it. He describes instead the dense planets orbiting around it. As we open a Neruda book, we suddenly see going around us, in circles, like herds of mad buffalo or distracted horses, all sorts of created things; balconies, glacial rocks, lost address books, pipe organs, fingernails, notary publics, pumas, tongues of horses, shoes of dead people.
-from a preface of the book
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I’ve never read poetry before. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda was my first real experience with it, and while I can’t say I understood everything, I can definitely say I felt something.To be completely honest, I don’t get 95% of the metaphors in this book. The deeper meanings, the symbolism—all of that mostly went over my head. But at the same time, I understood what Neruda was trying to say in a way that I can’t really explain. It’s a contradiction, but it makes sense to me: I don’t fully understand the poems, yet I get them.Certain lines gave me goosebumps. Certain poems—like Tonight I Can Write and I Like for You to Be Still—hit me in a way I didn’t expect. I can’t break them down or analyze them, but I know they sound beautiful. I know they made me feel something deep, even if I wouldn’t be able to explain exactly why.I don’t know how to judge poetry. I can’t tell what makes a poem “great” or a “masterpiece.” But I do know that this book made me realize poetry isn’t just about understanding—it’s about experiencing. And even though this was my first time reading poetry, I know it won’t be my last.For anyone who’s never read poetry before and doesn’t think they would understand it, I’d still say: give this book a try. You might not get every word, but you might get enough—and that’s more than enough to make you feel something real.