"i carry your heart" by E E Cummings (poetry reading)

[mahaLoLolo1]

I think that E.E. Cummings would have liked you for not liking his poem. I mean, it's just another form of art, and there'll always be appreciators. I think you take it too much at face value, too literally. It's more of a feeling poem. Which is weird, and not everyone gets it. But it's cool.

[ffsf739]

I love your videos! Your voice seems to add even more depth to the poems you select! This and Baudelaire's "Vampire" are my favourites.

Hope one day you may record something by Sylvia Plath - that would be astonishing!

Anyway, thanks a lot for your wonderful contributions!

[SpokenVerse]

@ffsf739 Thanks for your kind words. I have read a couple of Sylvia Plath's poems. Put her name in the "search uploads" box over the videos on my channel page. Keep listening! All the best, Tom

[SovereignBeing]

u certainly have the voice for it, can we hear some Bryon or Donne.??

[SpokenVerse]

@SovereignBeing Yes, go to my channel page and you'll find Playlists for both Byron and Donne - or you can use the "search uploads" box.

[GhibliGirl91]

Luckily poetry is one of those things you can give your own meaning to.

[fifernickel]

thanks for posting this poem. i wouldn't say you read the poem too literally. i would say you don't know how to read a poem. that might come off as rude, but you obviously lack any appreciation for form, figurative language, imagination, etc. it's like you've never encountered a surrealist poem. you treat this poem as a series of assertions, but this is not a philosophical treatise. anyway, i don't have the space here to address your remarks fully.

[SpokenVerse]

@fifernickel No, do go on, you're doing so well. Your certitude is just what I need this morning. I wish I were as sure about anything I think.

I am already working on my appreciation of form and figurative language. My imagination is improving.

Do write me a philosophical treatise. I'm sure it would be amusing and diverting for all the other YouTubers who listen to my readings and read my insights - especially those who have a sense of humour.

All the best - Tom.

[katrinemalmgren7]

This is one of my favourite poems. It makes so much sense to me, and I have r it many times to my fiancé, to emphasize my love to him.

[cindymeS2]

You take everything so literally.

Wow.



[SpokenVerse]

@cindymeS2 No, quite the opposite, in fact. Everything is tongue-in-cheek. The irony gene never made it across the pond and British humour is incomprehensible to Americans.

The early settlers went to start a new life in the New Land because they couldn't stand their legs being pulled any longer.

[peace0182]

You have an amazing voice :) You make every poem, even the not so good ones sound fantastic and somewhat magical!

[blsh1243]

I don't think you'll ever enjoy this poem unless you truly fall in love...it seems as if youre bitter or still too young to understand the depth and the meaning behind this poem. Its about love; unconditional, undeniable love. Its meant to represent how deeply you care for your love. Idk, I dont think you truly appreciate it yet

[SpokenVerse]

@blsh1243 I'm pleased to hear that I sound young, not so pleased that I sound bitter. You'll find that love, the reality, is very different from love, the phantasy - and can be much better. The kind of love Cummings describes is about the self, love of an ideal, nothing to do with any real person. The sort of love he describes is an imposition - somewhat like stalking.

[kierLOVESyou]

this is the only poem that has ever made me tear up.

it's strange, but i feel it when i read it.

that's why i like it.

[chidiock413]

I do find this very enchanting at least your read of it anyway...I love the way you make the words "I fear" fall into / "no fate....ps I messaged you something personal...I hope you don't mind sir...

[ricw1217]

i'll admit to being sucked into exchanges with some you tube loonies, but in my defense, it was more of an experiment in provocation than anything else. regardless, you didn't explain the reading. IS it you? i am intrigued. you have very good taste in poetry - but your "critique" is another matter entirely! in any case, its much more fun to discuss poems than whether or not obama is a nazi socialist kenyan, or whether 9/11 was an inside job. (don't go there!) peace! ric

[ricw1217]

indeed. its kinda depressing. "still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest..." (paul simon, speaking of poets) as you have most likely figured out, i am an e.e. fan. he's my favorite! like everyone else, i thank you for posting these readings, even if you made fun of this one! it is very interesting, hearing the poet read his poem, don't you think? i wonder if the monotone is the poet's effort to let the work speak for itself. have a great day!

[ricw1217]

i am not a fan of poets reading their work in that bleary-eyed monotone, with the exception of dylan thomas. i didn't find your critique funny. it was moronic (a sticky plastic bag?) i'm not so sure anyone found it funny, with the exception, apparently, of your wife. (i'm glad she gets a kick out of you.) i'm surprised you're married. your "insights" and syntax made me think you were around 12.

[SpokenVerse]

@ricw1217 That's the problem with ad hominem arguments, they reveal too much about oneself. We see and hear things the way we are, not the way they are. Ain't it so, Old Chum?

[ricw1217]

@SpokenVerse now i'm confused! a little giddy from e.e., i decided to look for another favorite of mine on you tube, w.h. auden, and lo and behold i found one of my favs, 9/1/1939, read in the exact same voice as e.e.'s heart poem! is this YOU doing the readings? i'm fascinated. is poetry just a passion of yours, or are you a lit professor of some sort (impossible! if i heard you lecture about a sticky plastic bag i would have had to drop your course!) do you write, as well as read? - ric

[SpokenVerse]

@ricw1217 There was I thinking you were one of those guys who troll YouTube, looking for things to get upset about and people to attack. I googled your nick and that did seem to be so. When I made my critique I knew it would make some people to froth at the mouth and tear their hair out. Controversy is good for trade, but it's important to choose enemies carefully: there's delight in discomforting of a certain class of individual. No, I'm not a professor, more a poet manque.

[ricw1217]

its a magnificent poem, by one of america's greatest. being unable to appreciate it is fine. not all great poems are for everyone. but to critique it for such sophomoric reasons is sad. your "critique" says much more about you than it does mr. cummings poem!! (you can see, like e.e., i also scorn the shift key!) thank you for posting it. curious why you would, only to disrespect it so pretentiously!

[SpokenVerse]

@ricw1217 Apart from that, what did you think of the reading? My wife thinks it's the funniest critique I ever wrote. Why do you think other people are amused by it?

[Annagoesfree25]

This is one of my favorite poems. i fee luckyl to have found these readings. You are great. Thank you very much.

[loolootwo]

Ha Ha your critique of the poem is more than two times the original poem. At least it made you consider some things, you certainly have given it a lot of attention. Beautiful.

[ffsf739]

How can anybody not like this??? Are people insane??

Great reading of a wonderful poem. I'm really glad I've found this channel!

[MattFeenYT]

If you're the kind of person who posts a beloved poem and then erects a wall of critical buzzkill between it and its would-be listeners (complete with a crudely disingenuous disclaimer re disenchantment) in which you pedantically effect fake confusion about the meaning of the poem's metaphors (when the poem's/poet's abiding figurative rules are obvious, indeed famous) so as to distance yourself from its sentimentality and wedding-day popularity...we probably can't be friends.

[SpokenVerse]

@MattFeenYT It's great to meet you Matt. Thank you for responding in such a satisfying way. Apart from that, did you enjoy the reading?

[Snootwaller]

@MattFeenYT if youtube would let me give you a million thumbs up I'd be clicking here all day long. That said, "SpokenVerse" has contributed so many priceless treasures to youtube and as long as he or she intends on continuing I am very happy indeed--the footnotes will always be just that, footnotes.

[youhavegeniusshins]

I'm hoping your rant is, at least partially, in jest. Good reading, as always. I am a fan of your channel.

[SavannahG14]

I love this poem so much...

[blackedout8]

i don't know if you are somewhat joking, or not, but your whole description made me laugh. not at you, i just like the way you broke it down and made it so literal. i think the point of poetry is that everyone comes to their own conclusion with it. either this isn't your cup of tea, or you've never been in love. do you write poetry? sometimes expressing yourself through words makes sense to no one but yourself.

[tomcantflyxx]

I think literally deconstructing any poem is a ridiculous concept. There is a distinct different between reading poetry and feeling poetry. Somehow, that has been lost on some people. Can this poem not be a symbol of value and affection? Such deconstruction, to me, seems contrary to everything poetry stands for. More importantly though, to me, this poem is not a spoken word poem, it's a readers poem. You read repetitions and rhyme. To dissect the poem jeopardises it's lyrical integrity.

[SpokenVerse]

@tomcantflyxx It's wonderful to get such intelligent feedback.

[penguinmama88]

How very odd, Someone once criticized me because I took things too literally. I didn't really like him, so whatever he said: who wants a sandwich (all the hungry people in the world...you get the idea). Anyway, I've never seen anyone take such a LITERAL look (well except the LITERAL trailer boys) at something which is meant to be sublime. Beauty as far as poetry is in the ear (and I don't mean wax) of the hearer. If this poem does not move your heart, move on. So many other poems imho :)

[belzondium]

Tom O'Bedlam has earned the right to poke holes in a few poetic sacred cows, and to be caustic about it if he wants to. I fully agree that this 'poem' is nonsense. It reminds me of the worst commercial adult-contemporary radio pop music.

This morning I listened to your recording of 'Love Me Little, Love Me Long' by that anonymous Elizabethan poet. What a vast gap in beauty and wisdom between that poem and this.

[conquistador66]

He tries to convey, maybe not intellectually but very sincerely, feelings which are so fundamental to everyone and so incommunicable that they seem stupid, and does so bluntly, perhaps badly, and unashamedly I think. It's sweet and innocent, you seem to have a downer on it.

[SpokenVerse]

@conquistador66 What could possibly have given you that idea?

[conquistador66]

Sarcasm doesn't come across well over text, but you must get what I mean. You don't just dislike it, you dislike it to the point where you meticulously deconstruct it to the point where you appear a little stupid. You don't pick out scientific inconsistencies of other poems. That whole essay seems to be more to do with bile than having a reasonable argument.

[SpokenVerse]

@conquistador66 You don't think that the poem itself is a little stupid, then?

[JenReeves]

You have never truly loved and lived your life for someone else. The moment my first child was born this poem became true to me in ways I could never have imagined. I carry her and my other children with me wherever I go, everything I do and everything I have achieved they share some credit for. I am where they are, no not in the stalkerish comedic way you describe but I am there in that I have raised them and instilled my values, morals and beliefs into them.

[SpokenVerse]

@JenReeves Please send them my heartfelt sympathy..'

[2doctoma]

you sir are eigther a troll or a fool. you appear to be taking be terms literally rather than as a figure of speech. i carry your heart is not meant to be taken literally, it means that the person is truly in love and vice versa. wherever you go i go is a line simply meant to show that they will always be together. his line is sentimental and not literal. i sinserely hope that you are taking the piss rather than actually believing the crap that you are spurting.

[SpokenVerse]

@2doctoma Thank you so much. I have to admit that annoying people like you fills me with an unholy delight.

[Backdrop2772]

I respect your opinions on the poem but I truly believe your interpretation to operate on too literal a level and one that is presupposes that the poem is meaningless. In this way, I strongly disagree. Nice video though is this Cummings reading it?

[SpokenVerse]

@Backdrop2772 My opinions ain't to be taken too seriously. It's me reading it. Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Regards, Tom

[Backdrop2772]

@Backdrop2772 Hey no problem. Poetry is poetry: its open for interpretation. Great post regardless! Thanks for the reply.

[gnarledknuckles]

"There is too little enchantment in the world."

That is such a lovely sentiment. Thank you.

[TwinFlameUnion]

Exquisite voice..

thank you..

you have done honour to this poem...

Blessings,

vesna 

[DejaVuSu]

My very favorite poem by e e cummings.

You read is so very lovely. Thank you :)

[MysteriousMia]

wow for a guy that likes poetry you really are thick.

i appreciate that everything you have said above is correct, but for you to read it and interpret the words that way, tell me that you have clearly never been in the place e e cummings was when he wrote this.

Hopefully you could read the poem in another light, and appreciate the ludicrous aspects of the poem are simply reflecting the ludicrousness of love.

[TangoNUMERO7]

my BF introduced me to Cummings with this poem when we were together for 7 years - he carries my heart , he carries my heart inside his heart

what beauty and power Cummings found in his simplicity to break down powerfully such a complex feeling as it is LOVE.

[SISYPHUSECC111]

I find your lack of "enchantment" refreshing.

[eclectorsdevices]

How great if Cummings could respond to your commentary!

[mmbmbmbmb]

Do you relize how much attention you give this poem? You may not like it - but instead of simply disregarding it you write a whole essay (which I found utterly amusing!!!) To me poetry is art - and art is always perceived in many different ways. I don't think this poem 'claims' to be logical or make any sense for that matter.

It is what it is. Take it or leave it. No?

[longhairred]

*chuckle* The reading was excellent, but your description was delicious...

[alizee2010]

I enjoyed your reading and the commentary even more. The treachery of idioms both opens and closes doors in poetry, writing and conversing, even when dry.

[vudu8ball]

"Ha ha! i kinda liked this until I read your analysis of it. But liking something and saying it is good are two different things. I like Diet Coke but I would not say it is a quality beverage. You make some very good points. Most love poems and songs are sentimental recyclings of the same cliche. People long for that sense of ego loss that is often identified as love. The love that is so often talked about in songs and poems, this one included, is rather psychotic and dysfunctional. "

[calibansvg]

"And that nose, in its turn, can have a nose and so on ad infinitum, which is preposterous." ... It's turtles all the way down, man. I wonder if you might recite Khalil Gibran's poem about marriage from _The Prophet_ sometime. It's a much nicer love poem, and nobody is carrying anybody's heart in a paper bag.

[5jeanbittersweet]

Did you just pwne E.E.Cummings? :) Request: some poem about plums in the fridge, I can't remember , it was delicious.

[RyanUnplugged]

indeed

[liz1060]

uh oh ... I was still absorbing the notion that "a poem doesn't have to mean anything" ... heheh.

[irreverentreverend]

I definitely appreciate your readings and your commentary on this particular piece is worth the price of admission.

However, the second time through I thought of Tom Lehrer and Tim Minchin.

Very odd.

[gerryman30]

Perhaps an "astero-belt of astrophysicists?" No, a "cluster" sounds more appropriate. Again, thank you SpokenVerse.

[EarlZetland]

Wonderful, and the commentary made my day.

[39373077]

Isaac Asimov was unenamored of "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" for much the same reason. & though I am a Cummings fan, & though I'll bet the person he loved loved this, & though the business of keeping the stars apart is a nifty "THAT'S how much!"--yes, you have a point.

[sourissourissouris]

Haha, so I thought I was a hopelessly sentimental soul, but since I love your dry commentary far more than the poem, maybe I am not a lost case yet... ;) I LOVE what you do! You never cease suprprising me... and teach me... and entertain me - in the best meaning of all those words...

[Imagimontana]

First of all, I loved this poem.

Second, I loved the reading of this poem.

Third, I loved your commentary on this poem.

I suppose that means we can never be great friends, but for what it's worth, I see your point about its absurdity. And I do appreciate the dryness with which the commentary was delivered.

[SupermarketZombies]

Hehe good reading and I like your write up in the info box