This quote comes from Pablo Neruda's 'Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada', published in 1924 when he was only 19. The book captured the raw, passionate, and often melancholic experience of young love, breaking with older, more formal poetic traditions and becoming a landmark of Latin American modernism.

This book is one of the most famous and widely read collections of poetry in the Spanish language. Its lines are frequently quoted in love letters, wedding vows, and everyday romantic expressions. It helped cement Neruda's status as a 'poet of the people' whose words resonated deeply with universal human emotions.

The power of this line lies in its central metaphor: 'caminos' (roads). Neruda contrasts the vast, complex journey of a relationship—the struggles, the waiting, the personal histories—with the simple, singular destination of 'un beso' (a kiss). This contrast between the immense journey and the simple goal makes the final moment of connection feel both inevitable and miraculous.