Taken from: Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada. Escrito por Pablo Neruda
Translation: Copyrighted 1969 to W.S. Merwin, published 1969 by Grossman Publishers.
ISBN: 0-14-243770-0
Me gustas cuando callas
by Pablo Neruda
Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente,
y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te toca.
Parece que los ojos se te hubieran volado
y parece que un beso te cerrara la boca.
Como todas las cosas están llenas de mi alma
emerges de las cosas, llena del alma mía.
Mariposa de sueño, te pareces a mi alma,
y te pareces a la palabra melancolía.
Me gustas cuando callas y estás como distante.
Y estás como quejándote, mariposa en arrullo.
Y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te alcanza:
déjame que me calle con el silencio tuyo.
Déjame que te hable también con tu silencio
claro como una lámpara, simple como un anillo.
Eres como la noche, callada y constelada.
Tu silencio es de estrella, tan lejano y sencillo.
Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente.
Distante y dolorosa como si hubieras muerto.
Una palabra entonces, una sonrisa bastan.
Y estoy alegre, alegre de que no sea cierto.
English Translation (which stinks, but what can you do?)
I Like for You to be Still
I like for you to be still: it as though you were absent,
and you hear me from far away and my voice does not
- touch you
It seems as though your eyes had flown away
and it seems that a kiss had sealed your mouth.
As all things are filled with my soul
you emerge from the things, filled with my soul.
You are like my soul, a butterfly of dream,
and you are like the word Melancholy.
I like for you to be still, and you seem far away.
It sounds as though you were lamenting, a butterfly cooing like
- a dove
And you hear me from far away, and my voice does not reach
- you:
Let me come to be still in your silence.
And let me talk to you with your silence
that is bright as a lamp, simple as a ring.
Your are like the night, with its stillness and constellations.
Your silence is that of a star, as remote and candid.
I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,
distant and full of sorrow as though you had died.
One word then, one smile, is enough.
And I am happy, happy that it’s not true.
Pablo Neruda is my favorite spanish speaking poet, hands down. I know that most people don’t enjoy poetry at all, and even fewer guys do, but it’s really found a unique place in my life. Neruda directs his language so well in this poem, making you almost whisper most of it. Beautiful.
i like it, thanks for sharing dustin.
dude, you got teh spam.
check out the movie “Il Postino”. a love story in Italian and features Neruda when he was exiled in Italy.
Also check out the song by a group “Brazilian Girls” called ” and the song title, obviously, “Me gusta cuando callas”
enjoy
[...] When you look on the internet for someone else to interpret your poem you get people like this who preface their translations with broad statements like “Poetry is cool…” Now, [...]
eng translation is better it helps us but i think hindi could be more than english.
we want know pablo neruda by hindi words
.
I really wish I knew Hindi. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to speak Hindi, and not even the english translation is mine. Thanks for stopping by
.
Hi i noticed that you translated wrong the poem… instead of “I like it when you’re still” it is suposed to be “I like it when you’re quiet”
I liked the translation. It is not bad, actually I enjoyed it in translation ( and I love Pablo Neruda’s poetry.)I agree with the comment that still could be changed to quiet – “I like when you are quiet”…good luck with translations!
Thanks for the tips, however, this is not my translation.
When I’ve read it in Spanish, I have always assumed that the word callar would translate to “to be quiet.” I was surprised to see Merwin translate it as “still.” I agree with both of your comments in that quiet seems like a much more suitable word in this case.
[...] schuur451 7:34 pm A long time ago I posted a translation of a Pablo Neruda poem that I enjoyed quite a bit. That translation was not mine, and it has been a long time since [...]
I’m kinda confused…i thought that “me gusta cuando callas” meant i like it when you’ve gone quiet. We studied it in spanish and thats how it was translated.
To be honest, I’m not sure I agree with the translator on this word either. I think he pursued the feeling of what Neruda was saying instead of translating literally. I always translated it in my head as “I like when you are silent.” Definitely up for interpretation though.
Thanks so much for posting this – it is my most favorite poem and I was looking for a link to it for my blog! Lovely.
http://www.dfjbmusic.com/blog/2010/12/02/living-for-the-city/
As a matter it should be “I like it when you’re silent” email me and I will translate it for you. Ciao
I agree with your translation as well. I posted the translation verbatim. It was done in 1969 by W.S. Merwin. I feel like he pursued the feeling of the words instead of their literal meaning.
What strikes me most about the tone of this poem is how tranquil…how still…the words are. I think perhaps Merwin felt the same way, and so did not pursue the literal meaning of the words.
Thanks for stopping in!
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[...] is an absolutely beautiful poem (it is bringing me pain to link to an English Translation, but better than nothing) — hope you can read the [...]