(12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973 / Parral / Chile)

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We Are Many

Of the many men whom I am, whom we are,
I cannot settle on a single one.
They are lost to me under the cover of clothing
They have departed for another city.

When everything seems to be set
to show me off as a man of intelligence,
the fool I keep concealed on my person
takes over my talk and occupies my mouth.

On other occasions, I am dozing in the midst
of people of some distinction,
and when I summon my courageous self,
a coward completely unknown to me
swaddles my poor skeleton
in a thousand tiny reservations.

When a stately home bursts into flames,
instead of the fireman I summon,
an arsonist bursts on the scene,
and he is I. There is nothing I can do.
What must I do to distinguish myself?
How can I put myself together?

All the books I read
lionize dazzling hero figures,
brimming with self-assurance.
I die with envy of them;
and, in films where bullets fly on the wind,
I am left in envy of the cowboys,
left admiring even the horses.

But when I call upon my DASHING BEING,
out comes the same OLD LAZY SELF,
and so I never know just WHO I AM,
nor how many I am, nor WHO WE WILL BE BEING.
I would like to be able to touch a bell
and call up my real self, the truly me,
because if I really need my proper self,
I must not allow myself to disappear.

While I am writing, I am far away;
and when I come back, I have already left.
I should like to see if the same thing happens
to other people as it does to me,
to see if as many people are as I am,
and if they seem the same way to themselves.
When this problem has been thoroughly explored,
I am going to school myself so well in things
that, when I try to explain my problems,
I shall speak, not of self, but of geography.

Submitted: Friday, January 03, 2003


Read poems about / on: hero, people, school, city, together, lost, home, wind, horse

Comments about this poem (We Are Many by Pablo Neruda )

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  • Putul S (10/3/2009 1:48:00 AM)

    So typical of all of us! Very Beautifully expressed.

    7 person liked.
    2 person did not like.
  • Kentucky Refugee (5/29/2008 12:34:00 AM)

    To what degree are we all 'split'? Are we not all multifaceted? The problem arises when the splits are unknown and unconscious.

    6 person liked.
    2 person did not like.
  • Tyler Tracy (6/14/2007 2:05:00 PM)

    This poem is awsome! !

    11 person liked.
    1 person did not like.
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