Throughout the poem, “Joyas Voladores”, Brian Doyle uses metaphors to comment on how we as humans live and love. When Doyle is comparing the hummingbird and tortoise heartbeat speed, he is explaining there are different ways to live your life. Doyle is emphasizing how human life is so precious in this passage.  When Doyle is talking about the whales, he uses them to bring in the topic of love. The movement imagery of the hummingbird connects the hummingbird to the type of human that is very active but driven by what they do. By the way he explains the hummingbird, he tells us how the heart is “as small as a pencil sharpener”, meaning no matter the size of a person’s heart they will not be stopped. Therefore, when he goes on to explain the whale, he says “it’s as big as a room.”, he means that a person with a big heart is loving and caring. In “Joyas Voladores”, Brian Doyle compares humans and animals through the imagery of hearts to show that there are more than two types of people in the world. 

When Doyle is talking about the hummingbird he is comparing the human heart to the heart of the hummingbirds. The hummingbird is expressed as a “jewel” like a person who is admired or driven by their heart. Take athletes for an example, they are the type of people that are very driven by their heart because they have to have passion for the sport they play. “Each one visits a thousand flowers a day” (Doyle 95), by saying that an athlete has to practice multiply times consistency to get what they want out of their sport. By the hummingbird visiting this flower each day that amount of times, an athlete practices every day to get the goal they have been trying to reach. “They can fly more than five hundred miles without pausing a rest. But when they rest they come close to death…” (Doyle 95) taking from this, as a hummingbird can only go so long it relates back to the athlete because an athlete can run for so long and after being tired they reach the point of wanting to die because they are so tired. Also, a person who loves life and is driven by their heart to keep doing things to love life even more. The hummingbird in this passage is a great example because even though their hearts are so small, nothing stops them or takes their motivation away. As well with the human, there are small human beings in this world but nothing stops them from getting what they want. That is why the hummingbird is great to compare to a human. Some even look at a hummingbird as a “jewel”, as though they would look at a human. “flying jewels” (Doyle 94) Humans look at other humans and think that they are beautiful or a master piece at how they would look at a hummingbird. 

Doyle goes on to talk about the whale, he expresses how the whale has a huge heart, “it weighs more than seven tons. It is as big as a room”, (Doyle 95) he is comparing it to a human with a big heart. Saying someone is very caring or loving, someone that is down to earth and just nice in all ways possible. When Doyle is telling about the whale, he is saying no matter your size, height, color, you are still loved no matter what. You have a purpose just like the next one sitting beside you. He brings up the whale to bring up the topic about love because it does not matter who you are, in some way shape or form you are loved and loved for being who you are. “But we know this: the animals with the largest hearts in the world generally travel in pairs.” By using pairs, you can take from what he is saying by using pairs as a family because no matter what your family loves you for who you are and is always there for you no matter what. Your family loves you unconditionally so as I was saying, it does not matter who you are, you are loved no matter what.  

In the next paragraph, Doyle tells us about the mammals and the birds, reptiles and turtles, fish, insects and mollusks, worms, and the unicellular bacteria. In this paragraph he is expressing that there are more than two kinds of people in this world. In the world you have several different kinds of people. “Mammals and birds have hearts with four chambers. Reptiles and turtles have hearts with three chambers. Fish have hearts with two chambers. Insects and mollusks have hearts with one chamber. Worms have hearts with one chamber, although they may have as many as eleven single-chambered hearts.” (Doyle 96) As Doyle says in this quote, there are different heart chambers as there are plenty of different kinds of people in this world. That is not a bad thing to have because everyone is not made to fit in with everyone. You have people that are their own people as well as the ones that have to be center of attention. That is where there are more than two different type of people. Not everyone is made to be the same exact or have the same friends. “We all churn inside.” (Doyle 96) With that being said, no matter what type of person you are you still have the beating heart of the next person next to you. We all have some type of fluid running through or bodies. 

Doyle then goes into how your heart can be broken and it is easy to close up your heart and shut everyone out. “We are utterly open with no one in the end –-not mother and father, not wife or husband, not lover, not child, not friend. We open windows to each but we live alone in the house of the heart” (Doyle 96), by Doyle saying this in the end you eventually will not have anyone in the end because at some point people have to die so we are bond to shut out everyone and shut out our hearts. Also, being alone in the end is not always a negative thing. Yes, it hurts to get your heart broken and be alone but in the end you will always have yourself to count on. Even though your heart can be broken and you close up your heart, sometimes it is better to look at the bigger picture. You are still alive with a beating heart. 

By comparing the imagery of animal hearts to humans, Brian Doyle tries to explain that there are simply more than two types pf people in this world. He compares the animal to the human being because no matter what you are, your heart is a wonderful and very powerful thing. 

Also, how he expresses life throughout the passage and how precious it is by using animals to express life as a human being and what the heart actually means. Life is a beautiful thing and we as human are very blessed to be a live with a beating heart. We as humans are comparable to the animal simply through our hearts and that is a very powerful thing. 