
Written by Brian Doyle, the prose poem “Joyas Volardores” seems very simple after a first read. Doyle is simply listing facts about three animals: a hummingbird, a blue whale and a human. Yet when one takes a closer look, it is evident that this poem is more insightful than many other works. The prose poem “Joyas Volardores” uses imagery from the author’s  knowledge of hearts to create an emotional connection between different beings, and the connection he creates shows that the heart itself is the most open organ in any living being.

One would think that Doyle believes the hummingbird and blue whale, and especially their hearts, are the most powerful creatures on earth after delving into the first paragraphs of “Joyas Volardores”. He describes both of their hearts with words and phrases like “leaner” and “waaaaay bigger than a car” which only exemplifies how strong he believes these creatures to be (95). Brian Doyle believes that an open heart can be powerful. Open hearts allow for the animal to love and live life without any regrets or sadness. But, he then goes on to admit that the hummingbird and blue whale could truly be very weak animals due to this openness. For example, the heart of the hummingbird fails once they reach a certain age from beating so fast all of the time. Doyle included this fact at first seemingly to only say that hummingbirds have a short lifespan. But at a closer read one can see that he’s saying their open hearts, the openness to a free and worthy life, eventually fail due to the constant openness. This goes to say that animals with an open heart can have a weakness like the hummingbird. The same can be said for the blue whale. Each lives with an open heart the size of a room, but because their hearts are so open, they cannot live without another whale. Yes, they are open to love and the possibility of it, but due to their open hearts they are unable to spend any moment of their long lives alone. The blue whale also has a weakness due to its open heart. An open heart, like in the hummingbird and blue whale, can be the most powerful thing in the world, but it has its downfalls.

While the entire bulk of the prose poem was about hummingbirds and blue whales, the final, and most important, paragraph is entirely about humans. “We are utterly open with no one in the end”, is how Brian Doyle begins this paragraph (96). He says this because he believes that no one, not a parent or lover or child, will truly be able to fill one’s heart completely in a lifetime. Doyle best describes this when he says “We open windows to each but we live alone in the house of the heart” (96). Humans seem to think that their only life purpose is to fall in love and be happy. But that is why Doyle wrote this paragraph. Doyle writes this because he wants to show that all people can have the walls around their hearts demolished at any simple life splendor. He writes this last paragraph to show how weak a human heart can be when completely open and vulnerable to love, but how lonely it can be when completely closed. He knows that an open heart is something that is too hopeful in a world that is unforgiving. This whole idea is a little too negative, though, so Doyle then continues to explain why he thinks this is true. He states that when humans are young they believe there is one person out there, their other half, that will forever complete them. But as the human leaves their hearts open to this possibility, all of the ex-lovers start to hurt the heart. So when humans get older they build walls around their hearts to try to keep them closed up. For the first time in his prose poem, Doyle admits that an animal does close its heart. But, the final line of the prose poem goes back to his original idea that the heart is always open. He lists all of the ways a wall around a heart can fall in an instant, like “a woman’s second glance” or “the brush of your mother’s papery ancient hand in the thicket of your hair” (96). Doyle writes this because he wants to show that all people can have the walls around their hearts demolished at any simple life splendor. He writes this last paragraph to show how weak a human heart can be when completely open and vulnerable to love, but how lonely it can be when completely closed. This paragraph matters for readers because it gives a purpose to Doyle’s writing about two random animals. The fact that he includes humans makes it more realistic for the reader so they can relate to it better.

The human heart and the hearts of other organisms like the hummingbird and blue whale are different because some hearts are open while human hearts are closed.  The way Doyle described it, the hummingbird and blue whale just live with their hearts open because they do not know any different way to live. But humans, although wanting to have this freedom, are unable to due to the cowardliness of their hearts. The author is trying to explain that other animals go blindly through life, yet humans feel everything so deeply. Maybe humans feel so deeply about life because their hearts are so open at first. But why, unlike humans, do other animals not feel this same hurt and anguish as they go through life? The author does not really come out and say it, but the reader can understand that although he pities the human heart, he believes that other animals have better hearts due to their constant openness. Yes, he admits the openness has its cons, but it seems he thinks that the closing of a heart is the worst way to live one’s life.

Brian Doyle, the author of “Joyas Voladores” on the outside seems really obsessed with anatomy. But as one reads deeper into his prose poem, one can understand that he does this to make a point about humans. He wants to show that a heart open to love and life’s experiences, although seemingly weaker, is always better than a heart packed away and alone. The author created this prose poem to show a difference between the hearts of different organism, but he also created this work to show how an open heart, although powerful, can make a person weak. Near the end of the poem he says “We all churn inside”, which is just to show that all living beings, with open or closed hearts, have the capacity of love and living a happy life.
