I’ve always believed that a great song is basically a poem with a beautiful melody. There’s the lyrics on one side and the music on the other. I like them separately, but when both are merged, a beautiful song is created. I like plain melodies, with no voices, I like poetry and I also like music. But let’s talk about poetry today…

No other poet has captivated me like Pablo Neruda. I remember once going to the ‘press office’ at the city hall to get some documents. One of the journalists had a poem on her board that said ‘(s)he who doesn’t travel, doesn’t read, doesn’t listen to music… dies slowly”. After reading that, I thought my vital signs seemed to be fine. After all, I love to read, I love to travel and I love music. But when I got home, I was still curious to keep reading what the poem said, I wanted to find out if I really was alive or was ‘dying slowly’ like Neruda said. Here’s the poem that enjoy reading from time to time. It’s a nice reminder to remember that life is a treasure we’ve been given and that we have to make the most of each moment. I hope you like the poem.

Pablo Neruda - Dies slowly

(S)he who becomes a slave of habit,
who follows the same route every day,
who never changes pace,
who does not risk and change the color of his(her) clothes,
who does not speak and does not experience,
dies slowly.

(S)he who shuns passion,
who prefers black on white,
who prefers dotting ones “it’s” rather than a bundle of emotions, the kind that make your eyes glitter, turn a yawn into a smile and
that make the heart pound in the face of mistakes and feelings,
dies slowly.

(S)he does not turn things topsy-turvy
when is unhappy at work,
who does not risk certainty for uncertainty,
to thus follow a dream,
those who do not forego sound advice at least once in their lives,
die slowly.

(S)he who does not travel, who does not read,
who does not listen to music,
who does not find grace in himself(herself), 
dies slowly.

(S)he who slowly destroys his own self-esteem,
who does not allow himself(herself) to be helped,
who spends days on end complaining about his(her) own bad luck, about the rain that never stops,
dies slowly.

(S)he who abandons a project before starting it, who fails to ask questions on subjects (s)he doesn’t know, (s)he who doesn’t reply when they are asked something they do know,
die slowly.

(S)he who doesn’t share his (her) emotions, happiness and sadness,
(s)he who doesn’t trust, (s)he who doesn’t try,
dies slowly.

(S)He who doesn’t want to improve and doesn’t learn about the stones put in the path of life,
(s)he who doesn’t love and does not let others love him(her), dies slowly.

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.

Only a burning patience will lead
to the attainment of a splendid happiness

Location: Irun, Gipuzkoa

Mood: Smiling

Music: Beyoncé & Shakira - Beautiful Liar