Central Heating

We don't hear too much about the speaker in this poem, so it's up to us to leap from what we read in the poem to a picture of who we think is talking to us. Ready to jump?

First up, an assumption: we assume that our speaker is a fella. That's only because Reverdy in real life was a fella, and this speaker seems to be hung up on a loved one, who we're also assuming is a woman. Now, we know what assuming can do to the best of us, but really nailing down the whys and wherefores of this hot (or occasionally warm) affair is a bit beside the point. What is important about our speaker is the way his thought process operates in the poem. Specifically, we see a person in love trying to come to grips with the reality of his emotions.

Now, that might sound weird. Shouldn't you be happy if you're in love? Well, that really depends on the situation. Sure, it's all high-fives and lollipops for some, but for others being in love represents a real vulnerability. Think about it: when you are totally in love, you're basically putting your happiness in the hands of someone else. It's as if you've become totally dependent on them for everything: happiness, meaning, warmth. And is that a good thing?

Again, there are no easy answers here. It's important to realize that our speaker never comes to any hard and fast conclusions. Instead, we get the inner workings of mind that is questioning. Is this love that the speaker is feeling even real? Could it just be an impulse? What might "real love" even be, after all? Is there artificial love? Our speaker is pushing these questions to their very extreme: What is love? What is warmth? What is reality? What in the Sam Hill is life, for cryin' out loud? Those are a few of the big, BIG questions that plague our speaker, so forgive him if he's a bit out of sorts for these few lines, would you?