Ode to the Present (Pablo Neruda)

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  • #134

    Jordan Hill
    Member

    Pablo Neruda has been blowing my mind recently– check out this incredible way of touching on the present:

    Ode to the Present
    by Pablo Neruda

    This
    present moment,
    smooth
    as a wooden slab,
    this
    immaculate hour,
    this day
    pure
    as a new cup
    from the past–
    no spider web
    exists–
    with our fingers,
    we caress
    the present;

    we cut it
    according to our magnitude
    we guide
    the unfolding of its blossoms.
    It is living,
    alive–
    it contains
    nothing
    from the unrepairable past,
    from the lost past,
    it is our
    infant,
    growing at
    this very moment, adorned with
    sand, eating from
    our hands.
    Grab it.
    Don’t let it slip away.
    Don’t lose it in dreams
    or words.
    Clutch it.
    Tie it,
    and order it
    to obey you.
    Make it a road,
    a bell,
    a machine,
    a kiss, a book,
    a caress.
    Take a saw to its delicious
    wooden
    perfume.
    And make a chair;
    braid its
    back;
    test it.
    Or then, build
    a staircase!

    Yes, a
    staircase.
    Climb
    into
    the present,
    step
    by step,
    press your feet
    onto the resinous wood
    of this moment,
    going up,
    going up,
    not very high,
    just so
    you repair
    the leaky roof.
    Don’t go all the way to heaven.
    Reach
    for apples,
    not the clouds.
    Let them
    fluff through the sky,
    skimming passage,
    into the past.

    You
    are
    your present,
    your own apple.
    Pick it from
    your tree.
    Raise it
    in your hand.
    It’s gleaming,
    rich with stars.
    Claim it.
    Take a luxurious bite
    out of the present,
    and whistle along the road
    of your destiny.

    #3190

    Tony-James
    Member

    Wow! It feels so good to be somewhere that requires no travel <3 Thank you so much for sharing 🙂

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