Pablo Neruda
(1904–1973) was a Chilean poet and diplomat known for his passionate and lyrical poetry. His works, including "Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair," explore love, politics, and human emotion. Neruda received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971. His poetry has been widely translated and celebrated. Pablo Neruda’s legacy continues to inspire readers and writers worldwide.
5 quotes in this collection. Read them below, share your favourites, or follow the related links to explore similar voices.
All quotes by Pablo Neruda
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“Tonight I can write the saddest lines.”
Meaning: These opening words of poem XX, written when Neruda was a young poet, begin a farewell to a lost love. The grief is honest and plain. If you are mourning a relationship, write your own unsent letter tonight, say everything, and notice that putting sorrow into words can loosen its hold. -
“I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent, and you hear me from far away and my voice does not touch you.”
Meaning: In this poem, Neruda describes loving someone's silence and distance, a quiet that feels both close and out of reach. It names the ache inside intimacy. When your partner is withdrawn, practice patience: sit nearby, ask once how they are, and let silence be allowed without pressing for words. -
“Oh let me remember you as you were before you existed.”
Meaning: From poem XIV of Neruda's early collection, this line imagines a love so deep it reaches back to a time before the beloved appeared in his life. It is about memory and gratitude. Spend a few minutes recalling the moment you first noticed someone you love and tell them what you remembered. -
“Who writes your name in letters of smoke among the stars of the south?”
Meaning: In the fourteenth poem of Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, the young Neruda addresses a lover who seems part of the night sky. Love, here, makes the beloved feel written into the world. Write your partner a short note naming where you see them in your ordinary days. -
“The moon lives in the lining of your skin.”
Meaning: Neruda wrote this in his Ode to a Beautiful Nude, part of his 1956 collection of new elemental odes, celebrating a lover's body with images drawn from nature. It shows love as attentive wonder. Tell your partner one specific, vivid thing you notice about them this week instead of a generic compliment.