John Green Reads Poetry

Muhammad Ali famously said, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.” in the lead-up to his 1964 fight against Sonny Liston.

 The phrase was crafted with the help of his cornerman and assistant trainer, Drew “Bundini” Brown, who was known for his poetic flair and motivational rhymes. Brown played a key role in shaping Ali’s public persona and helped coin several of his iconic lines.

H: Hey John, how are you doing?

J: Not great, it’s been a terrible week, Hank. As you know, here in the United States, it’s just been a really hard difficult painful week, I think, for everyone.

H: Yes. And I’m sure that we will talk about that in the midst of our podcast questions, several of which have to do with that. But first, do you have a short poem for us?

J: I do, among the terrible things that happened since the last time we recorded the podcast is that the great Muhammad Ali died. The greatest boxer of all time, who wrote this poem:

(Reads poem)

J: I’m a huge Muhammad Ali fan, Hank. He was a great writer, a great off-the-cuff poet, like the first great freestyler. Just a massive Muhammad Ali fan. The world is poorer without him.

H: And that’s not making it up. I remember you being a huge Muhammad Ali fan when I was a kid, and not really understanding it.

J: Well I think I’ve always been attracted to his poetry, but also there’s a certain poetry about the way that he boxed. He was a complicated person, but then again, most of us are. And I was a huge fan of his, and very very sorry his loss.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.