Pablo Neruda was a Chilean Senator and Nobel Prize-winning poet. He also had a reference in the popular musical Rent! Poem XVII is arguably his most famous poem. If you are an exceptionally inquisitive sort, be sure to read through his “Book of Questions”. You’ll also find some of those questions within the Pablo Neruda quotes below.
Pablo lived an intriguing life as a political activist and writer of sonnets. He lived in Chile, Spain, and even Paris. He resigned his political duties when he was diagnosed with cancer. His thoughts on love and life live on in his work.
Pablo Neruda quotes about being in love
1. “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” ― Pablo Neruda
2. “Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”― Pablo Neruda
3. “To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life.” ― Pablo Neruda
4. “Love! Love until the night collapses!” ― Pablo Neruda
5. “Love is the mystery of water and a star.” ― Pablo Neruda
6. “Love is a clash of lightnings” ― Pablo Neruda
7. “Your wide eyes are the only light I know from extinguished constellations.” ― Pablo Neruda
8. “In one kiss, you’ll know all I haven’t said.” ― Pablo Neruda
Don’t forget to also read these Virginia Woolf quotes for understanding life itself
Pablo Neruda quotes about love lost
9. “Let us forget with generosity those who cannot love us.” ― Pablo Neruda
10. “Well, now, if little by little you stop loving me I shall stop loving you little by little.” ― Pablo Neruda
11. “I can write the saddest poem of all tonight. I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.”― Pablo Neruda
12. “Don’t leave me, even for an hour, because then the little drops of anguish will all run together, the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift into me, choking my lost heart.” ― Pablo Neruda
13. “It was my destiny to love and say goodbye.” ― Pablo Neruda
14. “Give me your hand out of the depths sown by your sorrows.” ― Pablo Neruda
15. “From sorrow to, sorrow love crosses its islands and establishes roots that are watered by weeping.” ― Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda quotes about books, writing, and poetry
16. “Laughter is the language of the soul.” ― Pablo Neruda
17. “It was at that age that poetry came in search of me.”― Pablo Neruda
18. “He who does not travel, who does not read, who does not listen to music, who does not find grace in himself, she who does not find grace in herself, dies slowly.” ― Pablo Neruda
19. “The books that help you most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is that of easy reading; but a great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty.” ― Pablo Neruda
20. “While I’m writing, I’m far away; and when I come back, I’ve gone.” ― Pablo Neruda
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of writing quotes that will inspire you to begin your own writing journey.
21. “I do not dare, I do not dare to write it if you die.” ― Pablo Neruda
22. “And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.” ― Pablo Neruda
23. “Poetry is an act of peace. Peace goes into the making of a poet as flour goes into the making of bread.” ― Pablo Neruda
24. “A bibliophile of little means is likely to suffer often. Books don’t slip from his hands but fly past him through the air, high as birds, high as prices.” ― Pablo Neruda
25. “A book, a book full of human touches, of shirts, a book without loneliness, with men and tools, a book is victory.” ― Pablo Neruda
Also read these eye-opening Thomas Paine quotes that will make you question your philosophy.
Pablo Neruda quotes about life, inevitability, and death
26. “Someday, somewhere – anywhere, unfailingly, you’ll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life.” ― Pablo Neruda
27. “As if you were on fire from within. The moon lives in the lining of your skin.” ― Pablo Neruda
28. “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” ― Pablo Neruda
29. “He who becomes the slave of habit, who follows the same routes every day, who never changes pace, who does not risk and change the color of his clothes, who does not speak and does not experience, dies slowly.” ― Pablo Neruda
30. “If nothing saves us from death, at least love should save us from life” ― Pablo Neruda
31. “My soul is an empty carousel at sunset.” ― Pablo Neruda
32. “Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood.” ― Pablo Neruda
33. “Give me, for my life, all lives, give me all the pain of everyone, I’m going to turn it into hope.” ― Pablo Neruda
34. “We must dream our way.” ― Pablo Neruda
35. “Death is the stone into which our oblivion hardens.” ― Pablo Neruda
36. “Let’s try and avoid death in small doses, reminding oneself that being alive requires an effort far greater than the simple fact of breathing.” ― Pablo Neruda
37. “In the eyes of mourning the land of dreams begins.” ― Pablo Neruda
38. “He who has nothing—it has been said many times—has nothing to lose but his chains.” ― Pablo Neruda
Other intriguing Pablo Neruda quotes and questions
39. “Do tears not yet spilled wait in small lakes?” ― Pablo Neruda
40. “With which stars do they go on speaking, the rivers that never reach the sea?” ― Pablo Neruda
41. “Does he who is always waiting, suffer more than he who’s never waited for anyone?” ― Pablo Neruda
42. “Is there anything in the world sadder than a train standing in the rain?” ― Pablo Neruda
43. “What did the tree learn from the earth to be able to talk with the sky?” ― Pablo Neruda
44. “Do you not see that the apple tree flowers only to die in the apple?” ― Pablo Neruda
45. “In what language does rain fall over tormented cities?” ― Pablo Neruda
46. “Where does the rainbow end, in your soul or on the horizon?” ― Pablo Neruda
47. “Why do trees conceal the splendor of their roots?” ― Pablo Neruda
48. “Whom can I ask what I came to make happen in this world? Why do I move without wanting to, why am I not able to sit still? Why do I go rolling without wheels, flying without wings or feathers, and why did I decide to migrate if my bones live in Chile?” ― Pablo Neruda
49. “What does autumn go on paying for with so much yellow money?” ― Pablo Neruda
50. “Why is it so hard, the sweetness of the heart of the cherry? Is it because it must die or because it must carry on?” ― Pablo Neruda
You might also like these inspirational JRR Tolkein quotes from the father of modern fantasy literature
What is your favorite Pablo Neruda quote, or piece?
Pablo Neruda reminds us all that there is beauty in loving, and even in love lost. Life consists of a series of inevitable truths and he had an eloquent way of sharing those truths with others.
I would love to know “What did the tree learn from the Earth to be able to talk with the sky?” This question is so profound that it will keep me pondering for a while yet. If you have any answers to Pablo Neruda’s questions feel free to respond in the comment section below! Also, don’t forget to also share these inspirational Pablo Neruda quotes with your friends and followers.