If You Forget Me

“Sonnet XVII” by Pablo Neruda, translated by Mark Eisner (2004)

Like “If You Forget Me,” this poem is about Neruda’s third wife, Matilde Urrutia. It is arguably the most famous poem in the sequence of 100 sonnets. Both poems include the imagery of fire and flowers. However, Sonnet XVII is not about reciprocity between the lover and the beloved, but rather about distinguishing the kind of love that Neruda has for his wife from other kinds of love.

“Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral, translated by Ursula K. Le Guin (2003)

While Gabriela Mistral was a high school principal, she met and encouraged Neruda’s writing. In the 1930s, the two poets met up again in Madrid, Spain. This poem of hers, like Neruda’s poems to Matilde, includes floral imagery. However, Mistral’s poem has a much more hopeful tone than Neruda’s conditional language in “If You Forget Me.” Rather than reciprocal love, as in Neruda’s poem, “Give Me Your Hand” explores how two people dancing together become one flower.

“Romance Sonambulo” by Federico García Lorca, translated by William Bryant Logan (1955)

Lorca deeply influenced Neruda’s poetry. Both Lorca’s “Romance Sonambulo” and Neruda’s “If You Forget Me” include symbolism of the moon, wind, and branches.