The Separate Rose

The Separate Rose by Pablo Neruda. This is the first English translation of this poem sequence which grew out of a trip the Nobel laureate took to Easter Island in 1971. Alternating between "The Men" and "The Island," Neruda observes the latest remnants of the ancient world in direct opposition to the present, the guilty pathos of our time in opposition to the timeless vital purity of the island itself. In this poem, Neruda comes closest to reconstructing our prehistoric connection with Nature.