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Joan Tollifson's avatar

I've always loved this poem. ❤️

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Noel Dunivant's avatar

I've always been intrigued by "Now I’ll count up to twelve and you keep quiet and I will go." To me, deep profundity, mystery and emotional resonance emanate from these 14 words. My mind wonders:

Why 12 and not 10? Perhaps 12 evokes the completion of cycles (12 months, 12 hours of day and night, 12 signs of Zodiac) or order/wisdom/justice (12 disciples, 12 imams, 12-person juries, 12 tablets of Roman Law).

Why does he go? Perhaps by departing, he empowers others to engage with the silence and stillness independently, no longer relying on his guidance. Or, perhaps a metaphor for death and impermanence of life, or an act of humility and (Buddhist) detachment.

To me, it encapsulates the meaning and feeling of the poem. It conjures non-attachment, impermanence, mortality, cyclicality/regeneration, the teacher/guide fulfilling his/her mission and moving on after contributing to the student's embrace of stillness and silence, and the realizations which they yield.

Of course, Neruda's 14 words convey much, much more than those I just wrote. And, more concisely and beautifully than those of which I'm capable.

Thank you, Robert, for translating and sharing.

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