The Tin Man

44 Comments

Poem Commentary

How to make a man of tin, made easy.

The Tin Man

Once upon a time a beautiful baby boy was born,
His heart beating with the very blood of life,
His smile filled with love,
His laughter filled with joy.

His eyes filled with the purity of an angel’s light,
His heart beating as though the Lord himself was pumping the blood through his veins,
His breath filling his lungs from the soft whisper of the holy sprit’s tongue,
Then one day things changed…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One day that baby boy was trying to learn to walk,
He tumbled to the ground and scratched his little knee,
Screams of pain and agony he felt came running from his little heart and filled his eyes with tears.
His father came running to his side and said: “It is ok my son, just a scratch, don’t worry, no need to cry”…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One day that baby boy grew and became a child,
He was trying to learn to ride his bike for the very first time,
He fell and he cut his elbow and the blood flowed from his little arm,
Screams of pain and agony he felt came running from his little heart and filled his eyes with tears.
His father came running to his side and said, “It is ok my son, just a cut, don’t worry you are now old enough to know what it is to be a man, be tough, be strong, be a man and don’t cry“…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One day that little boy grew up and became a teenager,
He feel in love for the very first time, sweet puppy love, his girlfriend broke his heart in two,
Screams of pain and agony he felt came running from his little heart and filled his eyes with tears.
His father came running to his side and said, “it is ok my son, you are now a man, be tough, be strong, suck it up, be a man and don’t cry“…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One day, that boy no more, now a young man,
He fell madly in love with his true love,
He got married for the very first time,
One day late at night as his slumber was awaken by a call,
The man on the phone told him his beautiful wife and the mother of his new born son was killed in a terrible car accident by a drunk driver.
Screams of pain and agony he felt like never before came running from his heart but this time no tears could be found for the river of emotions had dried up.
His father came running to his side and said: “don’t worry my son, I am here, I am so sorry for you loss beyond words, you can cry on my shoulder, let the tears flow”.
The man replied:” no need to cry dad, I am a man now, you have taught me to be strong, you taught me to be tough, you taught me well, it will be ok“…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once upon a time a baby boy was born,
His heart beating with the blood of life,
Somewhere along the way his heart became hollow,
His chest plated with a metal shield,
His heart frozen in a prison of stone,
His tears dried up from the rivers of emotions,
His body now just a tin shell of a man,
For over time the blood of his life was taken from his heart,
He became a man without a heart,
He became a man made of tin...

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Marsink commented on The Tin Man

09-20-2010

I was drawn in by the simple, but intruiging opening of the well told story. A lesson learned... I'm gonna go have a cry now--Applause!!

mbryant53 commented on The Tin Man

09-13-2010

Yes the ever present theme "Real men don't cry!" What a crock to feed our young men children. The heart must and I repeat must remain soft and warm no matter what trials we go through.

simoneaugustus commented on The Tin Man

09-12-2010

Parents often have so much more power than they realize, and it is difficult to wield it responsibly. We want to protect them, but still prepare them, and so many times the best of intentions can turn around and bring about something else entirely. I realize this piece was more about the boy who grew into a man, but I felt so much sorrow for the father, who obviously meant well but eventually felt he failed his son, whom he truly loved. Sorry for the tangent, just kind of typing what I think. Overall, an excellent piece!

Maleficent commented on The Tin Man

08-16-2010

O... so you DO know the Giant ;) "No public displays of emotion"... suck it up... heard that once or twice... bottle it all up till it pops... then, private displays of emotion... Anger Ball & such... will post that one for ya... you have penned an extremely accurate example of how society's view of what a man should be is actually detrimental for the individual... I think there should be one from a female's perspective... perhaps, Ice Queen...? this goes straight to fav's... write on dear Angel! ;)

kmooney commented on The Tin Man

08-12-2010

Angel. I am a huge Wizard of Oz fan. I love analogies and references to it and its characters. I think that in heaven, the movie runs nonstop, but that's another story. Thank you for your short story and moral. I like the message and the format. I think you did a wonderful job. Kind of reminded me of The Cat's in the Cradle by Harry Chapin. I think, in some respects, all men grow to have "tin" hearts. It's our blessing and our curse. Thanks for sharing...K If you, too, like the Wizard of Oz (and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of he Moon) take a look at my poem The Paradox of Oz. It's a long poem but worth the journey. Would love to hear your comments...

If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) American poet.

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