[encore] 1469: Pardon My Heart by Marcus Jackson

Summary

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The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode: [encore] 1469: “Pardon My Heart” by Marcus Jackson
Host: Maggie Smith
Date: August 10, 2026

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Episode Overview

This encore episode of The Slowdown, hosted by Maggie Smith, beautifully explores the power and vulnerability of sensitivity, both in the host’s own life and in Marcus Jackson’s poem “Pardon My Heart.” Maggie reflects on how a tender heart can be both a superpower and a challenge, setting the stage for the poem’s celebration of emotional openness. The episode invites listeners to consider the value of feeling deeply in a world that can often seem overwhelming.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Maggie Smith’s Reflections on Sensitivity

• Personal Vulnerability:

  • Maggie opens with a candid discussion about her own tender heart and how it shapes her daily life.
    • "If there's one thing my kids tease me about more than anything, it's my sensitivity. They lovingly tease me, I should add. What can I say? I have a tender heart." (00:30)
  • She describes how her emotions are easily stirred by art, news, or even commercials.
  • Sensitivity is seen both as a strength (“superpower”) and a challenge (“kryptonite”).

• Desire for Toughness:

  • Maggie wonders aloud what it would be like to have a tougher heart, to feel less and be less affected by the world’s pain, yet acknowledges that this is not her nature.
    • "Still, I can't imagine having a different kind of heart. Although sometimes I wish mine were a little tougher, not so easily bruised." (01:20)

• Connection to Poetry:

  • She relates her own experience to that of the poem’s speaker, admiring “big-heartedness” and emotional honesty.
    • "I love that the speaker of today's poem is big-hearted and knows it, owns it. Sorry, not sorry, he seems to say." (02:10)

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Recitation and Analysis of "Pardon My Heart" by Marcus Jackson

• Full Poem Reading:
  • Maggie reads “Pardon My Heart,” a poem celebrating unabashed emotion, vulnerability, and empathy. (02:20)
• Poem Themes & Imagery:
  • The poem’s speaker asks forgiveness for their overflowing, sometimes embarrassing heart, which is too moved, too loud, too loving.
  • Vivid images include bad dancing, earnest storytelling, and physical gestures of care (resting an arm on someone’s shoulders).
    • Notable lines from the poem (selected):
      • "Pardon my heart if it ruins your party. It's a large American heart and has had a good deal to drink."
      • "Too much feeling, too little technique."
      • "Touch allows my heart to trust that it's not imagining your company's loveliness."
      • "My heart will ignore and keep doing its little two step aglow in the middle of the room, never happier to have nowhere else to be."
• Interpretation:
  • The poem mirrors Maggie’s opening reflections: it both apologizes for and delights in emotional openness.
  • The heart is personified as unruly but authentic; its messiness is part of its beauty.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "My sensitivity might be both my superpower and also my kryptonite. Still, I can't imagine having a different kind of heart."
  — Maggie Smith (01:05)

• "What would it be like to listen to Sufjan Stevens and not tear up? What would it be like to watch a character die on screen or on the stage and not feel it deeply?"
  — Maggie Smith (01:35)

• "Pardon my heart if it ruins your party. It's a large American heart and has had a good deal to drink. It's a pretty bad dancer. Too much feeling, too little technique."
  — Marcus Jackson, as read by Maggie Smith (02:20)

• "Touch allows my heart to trust that it's not imagining your company's loveliness. Pardon my heart if you have to kick it out after you've muzzled the music and brightened the lights to tidy. My heart will ignore and keep doing its little two step aglow in the middle of the room, never happier to have nowhere else to be."
  — Marcus Jackson, as read by Maggie Smith (02:40)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:30 – 01:50: Maggie on her sensitivity, the challenges and gifts of a tender heart.
• 01:50 – 02:10: Reflection on the impossibility (and undesirability) of having a different kind of heart.
• 02:10 – 02:20: Connection to the poem and admiration for "big-heartedness."
• 02:20 – 03:20: Full reading of “Pardon My Heart” by Marcus Jackson.

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Episode Tone and Language

• Reflective, intimate, and honest; gentle encouragement to honor sensitivity and the ability to feel deeply.
• Maggie Smith’s language is both vulnerable and warmly humorous, mirroring the affectionate self-deprecation in the poem itself.

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Concluding Thought

This episode of The Slowdown is a gentle affirmation for anyone who feels deeply and sometimes wishes they could feel less. Through Marcus Jackson’s poem and her own reflections, Maggie Smith reminds listeners that big hearts, though sometimes unwieldy and messy, are a source of connection, joy, and even hope in a complicated world.

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Transcript

[A]

This podcast is supported by Raymond James, a financial firm offering wealth management, banking and capital markets services that are inspired by people before Raymond James. Financial Advisors build plans. They build relationships so they can craft individual strategies designed to achieve priorities and pursue what's possible. That's the power of personal [e-mail] Raymond James Associates, Inc. Member NYSE SIPIC the Slowdown Team is

[B]

taking some time to reset, refine and return with more new episodes from Maggie Smith in September. In the meantime, we are sharing episodes from the Archive. I'm Maggie Smith and this is the Slowdown. If there's one thing my kids tease me about more than anything, it's my sensitivity. They lovingly tease me, I should add. What can I say? I have a tender heart. I often cry during movies Hamnet about did me in this year. I get emotional about anything from a sunset to a commercial. The news undoes me. Frankly, I don't know how anyone isn't undone by the news lately. My sensitivity might be both my superpower and also my kryptonite. Still, I can't imagine having a different kind of heart. Although sometimes I wish mine were a little tougher, not so easily bruised. What would it be like to listen to Sufjan Stevens and not tear up? What would it be like to watch a character die on screen or on the stage and not feel it deeply? Yes, I know those people are only acting and I don't know them personally anyway. But I can't help but grieve in that moment. And yes, if my kids are with me, they'll give me that look or nudge me when I start to sniffle and wipe my eyes. It's now sort of a bit between us. If I had a different kind of heart, a tougher heart, would I be able to see what's happening in the world around me and not feel so brokenhearted? What would it be like to be able to sleep through the night unbothered? I can't imagine feeling less or caring less. That's not the heart I have. I love that the speaker of today's poem is big hearted and knows it owns it. Sorry, not sorry, he seems to say. Pardon My Heart by Marcus Jackson Pardon my heart if it ruins your party. It's a large American heart and has had a good deal to drink. It's a pretty bad dancer. Too much feeling, too little technique. It may sing some godless hymns about ousting armies of loneliness, about marching victorious to wives and towns and beneath a heart colored dusk. Pardon my heart if it closes its eyes for hours whispering rapture over and over. Pardon my heart if it laughs too loudly or if it tells many of its stories too ardently. Pardon my heart if it rests an arm across you or your friends shoulders touch allows my heart to trust that it's not imagining your company's loveliness. Pardon my heart if you have to kick it out after you've muzzled the music and brightened the lights to tidy. My heart will ignore and keep doing its little two step aglow in the middle of the room, never happier to have nowhere else to. The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. To get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram loadownshow and and blue [e-mail]. Hi, it's Maggie. The Slowdown is the only poetry podcast in public media. That means your support is vital to keep us going. No matter how much you give, your contribution makes a real difference. Head to slowdownshow.org donate today to power. More Poems into the Future.