Patsy Kline said “ You want me to act like we’ve never kissed, you want to forget; pretend we’ve never met, and I’ve tried and I’ve tried, but I haven’t yet… You walk by, and I fall to pieces. ” “ If You Forget Me,” by Pablo Neruda it’s sort of the opposite of this quote. This poem makes you ask yourself whether you can forget a person simply because they’ve forgotten you. The poem is kind of a way of protecting your heart.
In it, the author states, “ If suddenly you forget me do not look for me, for I shall already have forgotten you. ” He goes on about forgetting about the other person, but only if she has already forgotten about him. At the end he changes his story and basically says that if she still loves him, then he will forever love her. Pablo Neruda used a lot of imagery in this poem.
He talked about things as though he was painting them for the reader. He talks about the crystal moon and the wrinkled body of the log. These images are strong enough to be imprinted in your mind. He says, “…my love feeds on your love…” which almost shows you how strong his love is. It’s like he’s saying I will love you as long as it’s returned. The words were very vivid and gave the poem a reality that’s almost heartbreaking. There’s also a couple of lines where he talks about having roots and if she doesn’t choose him, the roots will seek another land.
The images that are drawn up in my mind make his words come alive for me. It makes me think of all the corny love stories I’ve seen. It just conjures up pictures of lost love. There’s a lot of personification in “ If You Forget Me.
” Pablo Neruda took mundane things and changed them into things that you can feel or almost see. There are a lot of sentences that don’t take much imagination to see the picture that he was trying to draw. He talks about “ the winds of banners that pass through my life. ” In my mind, I pictured a person seeing their life flash by and he means that this person is going to flash by in the same kind of way. Like, you’re going to end up being nothing but a memory that I don’t let myself think about. He also says that “…the aromas, lights, metals were little boats that sail toward the isles of yours that wait for me.
” This made me think of a boat sailing alone going towards the person that you’re destined for. Pablo draws up not only the picture that he wants you to see, but he also makes you feel what he’s trying to say. The entire poem is based on metaphor.
He uses it to express how his love will disappear if hers does but at the end of it he says that if she returns his love, he will love her forever. He describes the love he has for her as a fire and the nothing is extinguished or forgotten. He’s saying that nothing will ever make him not love her.
At the same time, he compares his love to the ashes of a log “ carrying me to you. ” There are many instances of metaphor in such a short poem, but each one draws you more and more into what he’s trying to explain. He’s trying to explain his love of her. I have felt the way that he’s described. I think any person that’s ever been in love can say the same.
You love someone, but the minute that they don’t love you, you want to be able to stop first. You don’t want to be the last person in love in that relationship. You try to keep your heart from breaking. He’s trying to protect his heart, but at the end he tells you that if you love him, he will love you and be yours forever.
Those are the kinds of words that everyone wants to hear…not the first ones, the last ones. You want to believe that someone will love you forever and be there. This poem sort of reminds me of a love song, maybe something by Boys II Men. Just a song of a love gone wrong, but yet there’s hope and everything can be resolved by the end of it. Love is something that seems so simple, but it’s not. “ If You Forget Me,” by Pablo Neruda is a good example of the complexities of love.
He wants to stop loving if it’s not reciprocated. At the same time, you have to ask yourself, is it possible to stop loving someone, simply because they stopped loving you? Is love somewhat of a competition?