Famous Love Poem

Edward Estlin Cummings (1894 - 1962) was a famous American Poet with an unusual style of writing. His name is frequently written in lowercase, e.e. cummings, and his poetry is probably best known for his unorthodox usage of both capitalization and punctuation, in which unexpected and seemingly misplaced punctuation sometimes interrupt sentences and even individual words.

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I just heard this today and love, love, love this poem. I am not really a reader, especially poetry, though I do enjoy both and lived through that lens growing up. But I wouldn't generally be...

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Famous Poem

[i Carry Your Heart With Me(i Carry It In]

E.E. Cummings By more E.E. Cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
                                                      i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

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Has this poem touched you? Share your story!
  • Teresa Salcedo by Teresa Salcedo
  • 1 year ago

Effortless is the word that I would use to describe how he conveys his love and devotion to her and for her. I find it rather sweet and coquettish, a 'thing' to be carried on his person as if a secret little talisman. This poem, most definitely, is a classic!

  • Michaelle Frost by Michaelle Frost
  • 2 years ago

I just heard this today and love, love, love this poem. I am not really a reader, especially poetry, though I do enjoy both and lived through that lens growing up. But I wouldn't generally be so touched by a poem being read. But this poem was read aloud in honor of Valentine's Day...within a closing mediation session at the end of a yoga class!!! There I am in deadman's pose getting cold on a mat, and hearing this poem just moved me to tears. It spoke to me. I thought of my love and saw flashes of all we've been through, good and bad. I also felt it spoke of my sister, whom I lost when I was 25, and my daddy who passed four years ago...not a day goes by in which I don't think of them or say/do something they did, sometimes intentionally so they can continue to live in this world with us now.

  • Nicole Pierce by Nicole Pierce
  • 4 years ago

If one wanted to speak of out-of-the-ordinary punctuation, I'd point them in the direction of e.e. Cummings' '1(a' and 'the sky was can dy'. Such poems, it does not make sense to the eyes right away from the breaking of traditional rules, yet his words still hold meaning, and the structure he gives, his work enhances, if not relies on the poem's structure. His use of parentheses could be taken for another way to emphasis his words, like one does with italicized or bold words.

I'm reading the non-spaced areas as a lack of a pause, seeming to indicate that the one speaking the poem cannot take a full breath upon such a description to say a simple 'I love you,' for love takes one's breath away. His words have such beautiful imagery:
'and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you'
& 'this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart'

The sky is vast, and space is endless, just as love is.

  • Renee Salazar by Renee Salazar
  • 4 years ago

I heard it in a movie. The whole movie is significant to me. I am a grandmother who is currently being exiled from her son and his family's lives for 1 year now. My two grandkids already don't know me. Also the relationship between the sisters is so very much like mine and my daughter's. The love is so unconditional it can often be toxic. The poem at the end really truly defines my love for my children: three different adult human beings. My oldest is in prison. I have not seen him in 8 years, and it expresses how deep my love is for him. Middle son hates me right now and has done a lot of wrong, and still the words are exactly how deep my love is for him. Two years ago, my mom passed and my youngest (27, my daughter) and I were living in the streets for five months after mom's passing. All we had was each other. Our bond did not allow us to give up on each other. We have deep, deep love - the type the poem speaks of.

  • Chahrazed by Chahrazed
  • 4 years ago

I also watched the movie. It touched my heart and so did your comment. It really made me cry. I felt your love for your kids and how much you miss your grandkids. I can understand your feelings because I was taken away from my grandma who basically raised me when I was little, to a family that I barely knew. It was so hard for me to adjust and to understand. I was only 6 years old and she suffered too. Everything got better. I got back to her when I got older and so will your grandkids. They will look for you. I'm sure. No kid should ever be detached from his roots. Grandparents are the roots of all families. Hope your relationship with them will get better soon.

  • Todd DeMoulin by Todd DeMoulin
  • 5 years ago

My wonderful, beautiful and loving Mother, Janet Leadman DeMoulin, who passed from this world to the next on September 25, 2015, loved to read and write poetry. When I heard this poem read by Cameron Diaz in the movie "In Her Shoes," I was touched and immediately thought of my precious, beloved Mother. I will read this poem to her the next time I visit her final resting place and often throughout the years to come. I couldn't have asked for or been given a better mother than I have in you. I promise that I will do my best to make you proud. I love you forever and always, my dear Mother!

  • Marvin J Carter Sr. by Marvin J Carter Sr.
  • 5 years ago

I love and carry with me a woman's heart in mine. I will carry it to my grave!

  • June E. Schlueter by June E. Schlueter
  • 5 years ago

This poem came to my attention through a movie. It was read at a wedding for the bride by her sister. It actually was the gift for the bride. And I agree that this poem is a gift. The whole movie was about two sisters learning to love each other as they were. I have one sister whom I love dearly. We have a similar relationship. We say, "I love you." but those words are used so frequently, it's nice to have a poem like this. This poem has such meaning and can be used in so many situations. It is so beautifully written. I love the first line. I have loved this poem ever since. It can be used to express love to anyone. I'm so glad that you published it. It is a gift to the soul. At least for me it is. I think it's my favorite poem. I write poetry, but I could never write this beautifully. It exudes so much feeling. Thank you for publishing this gem of poetry.

  • Tonya by Tonya
  • 4 years ago

I, too, was made aware of this amazing piece by watching the movie "In Her Shoes." Each time I read it, my heart aches. It relates to 3 people in my life I have love and lost. One by death and the other two by my own ignorance.

  • Courtney McMillan by Courtney McMillan
  • 5 years ago

I came across this poem by what sounds like the same film as you watched too. I have thought about it often ever since I watched the film.

  • Tripplj219 by Tripplj219
  • 5 years ago

This poem is so beautiful and romantic.

  • Suzanne Karfiol by Suzanne Karfiol
  • 7 years ago

Motherhood, the truest forever love. Though my children are gone and many, many miles from me, I carry them in my heart... and that is why this poem speaks to me.

  • Hiada by Hiada
  • 5 years ago

Yes, I came across this poem in a movie, however, it immediately made me think of my children and their father. So beautiful!

  • Barbara Eaton by Barbara Eaton
  • 8 years ago

My husband of 52 years has suffered two heart attacks and one heart episode. This poem spoke to me as we have lived with his condition and I feel I have carried his heart in my heart. I plan to have it read when and if he goes before me at his celebration of life.

  • Ken by Ken
  • 5 years ago

That is a beautiful sentiment. My spouse had a heart condition as well, and I would like to include this in his service. The poem had meaning years ago, and it just increased its significance over time.

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