Machine Boy

Heart for a heart.

 

 

There once was a man

Who even among comrades felt alone,

But he swore he would make something better than anything he had ever known.

A great inventor was he,

So he tinkered in his shop day in and day out,

For he had no time to dally and lay about.

He desired a companion,

But the years had aged him

He had not much time left.

 

He had no wife, no family, no child.

For most of his life to loneliness he was exiled.

 

So he toiled

And toiled,

But every time his plan was foiled.

(Ahh what a tragedy)

A child he desired.

A machine boy he wanted to create,

But never would it work

For an inventor can create out of springs and machine parts

But it was missing one thing-

A human heart.

 

What is a human heart?

Sure you can answer

(It makes you alive)

But what about a machine boy, who runs without a heart?

So how does he survive?

Surely, he without a heart could not be alive.

 

A heart is a soul

It makes you feel glad, sad, or mad.

No inventor can create something like that.

 

So the man started to despair

The last ten years of his life wasted.

A little blonde machine boy he had created

With two eyes of blue glass

And a face of porcelain.

It could walk and talk

Sing beautiful ballads

Play any fiddle.

 

It was perfect but still,

One part was missing.

But alas it was too late

He was too tired to continue

So he retired to sitting in wait.

 

The machine boy tended to him as he lay bedridden.

The man’s realization had settled in

His dream broken.

 

He had put all of his love into a machine that could not feel.

He rested his hand on the machine boy’s head,

Who had just brought his morning meal.

 

The machine boy’s face stirred.

“Why, Father what is wrong?

Do you feel sick?”

To the machine boy’s surprise he felt his gears seize up and click.

His machinery was not made to understand something so complex.

Something had changed

The machine boy did not know what.

 

As the days passed,

The world seemed so new.

Machine boy little by little

Started to feel.

 

“Is this a heart?”

Pondered little machine boy.

He ran to his father’s room in joy,

“A heart, a heart

Father, I finally have a heart!”

Now the man and the machine boy could have a fresh start.

 

Machine boy tried to shake his father awake,

But the boy already knew.

Knew it was too good to be true.

 

No machine could gain a heart on its own.

But a heart can not be made,

Only loaned.

His father had poured so much of his love into machine boy,

That he gave him his heart.

A machine could survive on its own,

But a human can not live without a heart of its own.

Machine boy was all on his own.

 

Machine boy could feel,

But only could hurt.

“Father why give me a heart if it’s broken?”

From his sorrow machine boy could not be woken.

 

Sadly the Machine boy’s gears stopped turning.

After all, no machine can be made to handle such emotions.

 

And so the man did it.

He made a creation,

(Short lived may it be)

Better than anything he had ever created or shown.

And with the machine boy by his side,

Now he will never be alone.

Reviews

[LyraStar]

Did you draw the picture yourself? It's Kinda cool!

[Write Cat]

I loved the depth and meaning. So strong. your style impresses me so much. please except my friend request!!

[Rose Hagerty]

I'm glad you liked my style of writing. This was actually quite an experimental peace of writing for me, but I definitely would like to make more writing pieces similar to this.

[London]

This is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I've seen on WC. Actually wish there was some liquid form of this which I could inject. Pleeaasse write more like this or in your style I love it so much.