Exactly how steamy is this poem?
PG-13
There’s nothing overtly sexual about "Love Sonnet 17," especially when you compare it to, say, "I want to eat your skin like a whole almond" (from Neruda's "Love Sonnet 11"). But this poem is definitely sexually suggestive (isn't that the best kind?) The love Neruda describes is powerful, deep, and intimate; it is so intimate, in fact, that it makes us think of people lying next to each other in some erotic moment. Lines 13 and 14 both begin with the phrase "so close" (tan cerca in Spanish), and immediately we think of two people in bed. We’ll give this a PG-13, parental discretion advised.