Cuerpo de Mujer (Body of a Woman)

photographed by: jestin c. korsgaard; cuerpo de mujer (body of a woman) by pablo neruda

Cuerpo de mujer (Body of a Woman) by Pablo Neruda gives me the chills. Going through his love poems, I thought Body of a Woman fits this series of photos perfectly. I first heard about Neruda via... wait for it... How I Met Your Mother. Yes, I didn't know about Neruda until recently, but I must admit I quickly became a fan. I purchased Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair from Borders recently and I started reading it on Sunday. I am so mesmerized by his use of imagery of nature. I've only read the first four love poems, but I'm already in love with his poetry. I do want to hear his poetry in Spanish though. I think his poetry in its original language would make it even more romantic and passionate. Reading his poems makes me want to fall madly in love. I think my heart and body would melt if a guy read Pablo Neruda to me.

Reading his poetry has given me a chance to connect to nature. I do love and appreciate nature, but admittedly, I am a city girl. I would prefer to live in the heart of the city, but it's a nice change of pace to visit nature once in a while. Last November, I went to Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma for a class photo shoot. It was the perfect opportunity to connect with nature and absorb nature's energy. It was just nice to be surrounded by nature's beauties. Cristina García eloquently writes in the introduction that Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair has encouraged her to look closely at her own world for its small miracles and the persistence of love. They speak to her from the heart, as if for the very first time. They remind her that renewal and change are possible, cycling through life like so many seasons, inevitable and surprising at once. They do something that only great art or faith or children, if we're lucky, do with any consistency: they offer hope.

I was so touched by García's beautifully written introduction which set up the perfect mood for me. I can't wait to finish reading the rest of the poems and I can't wait to go back and read them again in another period of my life. I want to connect to nature, but the only way I've been doing that recently is by buying myself flowers. I have every intention of buying plants and succulents and air plants for my new home in New York, once I've found a job and settled down in a place. Also, I am going to get a pet hedgehog!