Ricardo Eliecer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto
Motherless at two weeks of age, sought her.
Within his heart and mind, imagined her.
Age ten, before life had hardly begun,
He, whose talents his family did shun,
Loved her, felt her. She closed his eyes each night.
A boy arose to man with victim’s sight.
Life, splashed with discord from the beginning,
Sometimes sent his thoughts fast-forward spinning.
A Chilean born poet, communist
Political materialist…gist –
A Poetry Pulitizer Prizewinner.
Whose poetic successes still linger.
His legal “pen name” is no mystery.
Pablo Neruda died in state by cancer’s fate.
© Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
May 20, 2010
Poetic form: Rhyme
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.