The poem “Joyas Volardores” by Brian Doyle is a piece of writing that is not meant to be taken at face value. Its deeper meanings are in regards to the specifics of hearts in different organisms. The heart is more than just an organ and the author Brian Doyle makes that clear using imagery, comparison and diction. In this piece the author compares the hearts of a Hummingbird, Blue Whale and Human. Doyle argues that the heart connects all living beings. While each animal’s heart has its own set of characteristics that make it unique, it serves the same purpose which is to give life to an otherwise empty being. Organisms of all shapes and sizes require a heart to function effectively and do their jobs that our global ecosystem depends on for stability.

The first two paragraphs of this piece provide the reader with background information regarding hummingbirds and the heart in general. He starts the poem by referencing the hummingbird, a tireless worker who relies on a heart the size of an infant’s fingernail (Doyle 95). A small animal like the hummingbird has a huge job in the promotion and growth of plants and animals on earth. The bird continuously travels hundreds of miles a day pollenating flowers. However, this task does not come without a price. Doyle describes the animal as a machine who operates at maximum capacity at all times who eventually burns out and dies rather quickly. The text states that hummingbirds suffer from more heart attacks than any other being, this is remarkable considering it only lives for about two years (Doyle 95). The hummingbird’s ability to pump so much oxygen into its bloodstream allow it to travel such great distances. With this comes a lot of stress on the tiny animal that proves to be its downfall in the end.

The third paragraph of the text challenges the reader to think deeper about life. Doyle references that every creature on earth has about two billion heartbeats before they pass away (Doyle 95). The hummingbird lives a fast and exotic life, constantly fighting the elements to do its job. Although they usually only last about two years their time on this planet is spent doing important work. Doyle compares this to a tortoise who lives to be about two hundred years old. Although the tortoise lives for one hundred times as long as the hummingbird, the tortoise lives at a cripplingly slow rate. A blue whale lives it life at a pace somewhere between the extremes described in the tortoise and the hummingbird. In this instance Doyle makes this comparison and leaves it up to the reader as to which life they would rather live. This paragraph is vital to the rest of the text because as Doyle continues his discussion of the hearts of different beings, that question remains relevant throughout the poem.

There are many differences between a hummingbird and blue whale that Doyle uses in this poem to create interest and meaning. Earlier in the poem Doyle references the size of the hummingbird’s heart being equivalent to a pencil eraser; while the blue whale has the largest heart in the world. (Doyle 95). Imagery is used to describe the dimensions of the whale’s heart in the poem. “It’s as big as a room. It is a room, with four chambers. A child could walk around in it, head high, bending only to step through the valves. The valves are as big as the swinging doors in a saloon” (Doyle 95). A person could say that the blue whales heart is big, but referencing it in this way using this specific imagery makes it seem more real. It also puts things into perspective for the reader. Imagining myself as a young boy exploring the chambers of the blue whale’s heart makes me realize how much work the heart does every second, pumping blood throughout the creatures hundred-foot-long body. 

Humans are selfish in nature who usually look at situations from their own close minded perspective. But this text forces the reader to think with a broader view and put themselves in the situations of others. For example, the hummingbird who is no bigger than your hand, and a blue whale who is the largest animal in the ocean. Doyle expresses how even though there are about ten thousand blue whales present in every ocean, we know nearly nothing about them. Yet what we do know is that they travel in pairs and their cry can be heard from miles away beneath the sea (Doyle 96). On land, humans cherish companionship much like the blue whales, engaging in acts of marriage. Unlike humans, there is no divorce for whales, once they commit to a partner they stay together forever. Although there is no scientific evidence of this, an explanation could be the large heart that they possess. While it has been documented that when a whale’s partner dies they emit their pain vocally through their piercing cries. Proving that they are very emotional beings, much like humans. This begs the question, does a heart do more than just pump blood or does it carry emotional traits as well? 

The final paragraph of this poem addresses the emotional qualities of the heart rather than its physical characteristics. Brian Doyle speaks to the capacity of the heart in relation to the human condition.

When young we think there will come one person who will savor and sustain us always; when we are older we know this is the dream of a child, that all hearts finally are bruised and scarred, scored and torn, repaired by time and will, patched by force of character, yet fragile and rickety forevermore, No matter how ferocious the defense and how many bricks you bring to the wall. You can brick up your heart as stout and tight and hard and cold and impregnable as you possibly can and down it comes in an instant, felled by a woman’s second glance, a child’s apple breath, the shatter of glass in the road, the words I have something to tell you, a cat with a broken spine dragging itself into the forest to die, the brush of your mother’s papery ancient hand in the thicket of your hair, the memory of your father’s voice early in the morning echoing from the kitchen where he is making pancakes for his children. (Doyle 96)

In this quote Doyle argues that certain experiences can emotionally break down the “walls” of a person heart. An essential organ only lesser to the brain that gives the gift of live to an organism can be so easily destroyed by powerful gestures and words. Just a simple look by a beautiful woman can bring a strong man with a healthy heart to his knees. The loss of a loved one can leave one’s heart broken and empty; at the same juncture a new spark of love can fill one’s heart with joy. He mentions love because it is noted as the strongest human emotion. Love is commonly coupled with the heart as they share. Like Doyle is trying to say the whole time, the heart does more than just exist. It is a powerful part of the body that serves psychological and emotional functions as well as the obvious physical ones. 

In five paragraphs Brian Doyle forces the reader to think critically about the heart, and the purpose it serves in every creature’s life. The author uses imagery, diction and comparisons to show the differences and similarities of the hearts of a hummingbird, whale and human.  Doyle claims that the heart does more than pump blood and oxygen to the body. While there are differences between the hearts, whether it be the size, shape or number of chambers it possesses. Doyle argues that everyone and everything is connected through the heart, because it provides life and emotion to the lifeless and emotionless.
