Love and Hate – The Flip Side

HATE 
 
Because of me, in the valley of death
You die slowly like the petrified trees
  
I remember how you looked
How your face would contort in pain
When I angrily screamed at you
  
Because of me, you despise the chaos
of the city
the faceless crowds hurrying to their
destinations
 
I remember your silence, your piecing stare
from those unforgettable eyes
  
Unlike the scent of blossoms
Your memory of me is ugly
A weeping sore that will never heal
Untouchable as a leper
  
My words can still sting
Like a thousand angry bees poked from their nest
You will always remember the hurt
But my face will be obliterated from your memory
  
Because of me, the stench of swamp water
is ever present
Because of me, you will never search
for love again:
shooting stars and falling objects will kill you


Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Written for D'Verse Poets my poem HATE is written as the flip side of Pablo Neruda's poem LOVE (see below)

LOVE by Pablo Neruda

Because of you, in gardens of blossoming flowers 
I ache from the perfumes of spring. 

I have forgotten your face, 
I no longer remember your hands; 
how did your lips feel on mine? 

Because of you, I love the white statues drowsing in the parks 
the white statues that have neither voice nor sight. 

I have forgotten your voice, your happy voice; 
I have forgotten your eyes. 

Like a flower to its perfume, 
I am bound to my vague memory of you. 
I live with pain that is like a wound; 
if you touch me, you will do me irreparable harm. 

Your caresses enfold me, 
like climbing vines on melancholy walls. 
I have forgotten your love, 
yet I seem to glimpse you in every window. 

Because of you, the heady perfumes of summer pain me; 
because of you, I again seek out the signs that precipitates desires: 
shooting stars and falling objects. 

Lisa from Tao Talk is hosting D'Verse Poets tonight and has prompted us
with Flipping the meanings of poems.  I chose one of Pablo Neruda' beautiful
love poems and wrote the opposite. 

Image by Harsh Vardhan Art from Pixabay 

21 thoughts on “Love and Hate – The Flip Side”

1. Christine, as I read through this it felt like the residue left after a toxic abuser is gone. It also reminds me of someone who got voted out of office a few months ago, sorry! lol. Neruda’s poem is so beautiful! You’ve created the perfect shadow to it.

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   1. Yes I agree Lisa. Neruda’s poem was so much more beautiful being about a list love rather than a toxic lover. I really enjoyed this challenge. It’s amazing what you can do when you think of the flip side ☺️👍

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      1. ❤ 🙂

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2. Wow!! Such brilliant writing i wrote a poem about the stench of death that scared a lover once but i lost it on an old computer that went belly up.. this is so well written

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   1. Haha, I can imagine that scaring someone! Thanks so much. I really appreciate it m. Hope you are doing well 🥰

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      1. Thanks I am…<3

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3. I love Neruda and admired the way you mirrorred your poem with his. Hate stings and your lines here are superb:

   Unlike the scent of blossoms
   Your memory of me is ugly
   A weeping sore that will never heal
   Untouchable as a leper

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   1. Thank you Grace. I do appreciate it very much although I felt like I had sullied a beautiful Neruda love poem! 😢

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4. Beautifully written Christine

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   1. Thank you dear Sadje 🥰💕

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      1. You’re welcome my friend

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5. I like how you turned this in to a revenge poem. I especially like ‘shooting stars and falling objects will kill you.’

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   1. Thank you Ingrid. I didn’t realize how easy it is to flip over something that was so beautiful to begin with, as in the Neruda poem. I felt like I had done something awful. Or perhaps there is just such a fine line between love and hate 😦

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      1. Not awful at all – I do think it’s a fine line between the two sometimes!

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      2. Thank you ☺️

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6. I think the swamp water was a stroke of brilliance, Christine!

   ❤
   David

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   1. Thanks so much David! I’m happy you liked it ☺️

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7. Wowwww!! 💝💝 This is absolutely splendid! I love; “Unlike the scent of blossoms your memory of me is ugly/Like a flower to its perfume, I am bound to my vague memory of you.” Very beautifully done, Christine 😀

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   1. Oh Sanaa thank you, as always. I’m happy you liked the flip of that beautiful Neruda poem ☺️💕

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8. Oh my goodness….you’ve flipped this so well.
   These words
   “My words can still sting
   Like a thousand angry bees poked from their nest”
   that image says it all in terms of how cruel words and people can be.
   Well done!

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   1. Thank you so much Lillian. Yes that is true isn’t it 😢

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