Today, an excerpt from a work by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), who is considered one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. He is widely read in translation in the U.S., so you may already be familiar with him. If you’re not, here’s some info about him from poets.org.
From Ode to the Book (II)
Words
as slippery as smooth grapes,
words exploding in the light
like dormant seeds waiting
in the vaults of vocabulary,
alive again, and giving life:
once again the heart distills them.
De Oda al Libro (II)
Palabras
que se deslizan como suaves uvas
o que a la luz estallan
como gérmenes ciegos que esperaron
en las bodegas del vocabulario
y viven otra vez y dan la vida:
una vez más el corazón las quema.