I want you to know one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me, do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day, at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)




*Note: Firstly, I have to say that this is my very first thread. I thought I would'nt find a space where I can be myself, a poem lover, until I know there's a tiny bit of english literature atmosphere around this forum sub category. Well, why 'If you forget me?' and why 'Pablo Neruda'?

Back to my college years in 2007-2008, I "meet" this poem because my lecturer asked me (and the whole class, of course) to find a poem that shows some kind of "balance" inside it. I remembered my lecturer liked it, and so for some girls in the class (they say 'oh wow, can I take it? It's really a romantic poem!'). What about me? For all of my life, 'If You Forget Me' is still the only poem that I can never forget. I have learnt many western poems from famous western poets, but most of them are gone from my mind easily.

About the "balance" message in the poem, you can find it obviously in some lines, e.g:

'if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.'

and

'if each day,
...
you feel that you are destined for me
.....
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,'

To interpret it, I can say that this poem wants to show that love could be logical, 'If you love me, I will love you even more. But if you don't love me any longer, don't waste your time to think whether or not I still love you because the answer is absolutely not!'

Balanced, isn't it?

To get to know Pablo Neruda, you can read about his life story here >> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/pablo-neruda

Last but not least, correct me if I'm wrong. #cmiiw