The Tinmaker

He had fashioned himself tin objects
to have something to impart his love to,
and the objects were soon filled with his love.
As he worked, night and day, they became quite beautiful;
but the objects were incapable of returning their own love,
and the Tinmaker’s heart was empty inside,
longing for love returned...

All it would take for the Tinmaker was one tiny spark,
one tiny bit of love returned,
and the Tinmaker would explode;


She came from the mists of the islands of the sea,
this mermaid goddess;
she would descend upon the land
and place her spell on the man of her choosing,
then spirit him away to her islands;

some would never be heard from again,
others would return, ruined in madness...

So it was, one early morn, as the Tinmaker worked...


When the Tinmaker saw her,
the goddess mermaid of the islands seemed as if a dream,
for she was indeed the dream of any mortal man-
her beauty woven from the silk thread of the sea
and glistening with midnight moonlight,
her skin bathed in the milk of the dawn
and her blush tinted with soft sunsets...
her voice like a siren of the reefs
and her eyes thieves of hearts...

Yet, she was missing one important attribute,
the one thing that the Tinmaker needed most,
that of love returned...

He tried to love her, he searched with his heart,
but, like his tin objects,
he found the she could not return love,
and his heart, aching, saddened, told him
that his love for her was not to be...

This frustrated the goddess mermaid greatly,
for she was used to winning any man she desired,
and she was determined to make him love her;
any other man would have followed her willingly
into her boat, setting sail for her island,
and he would have never looked back...

This Tinmaker, however, she could not understand;
she offered him and island, with her as his pleasure,
never before had a man declined such an offer.
If she could not woo him, she would abduct him,
for the goddess mermaid of the islands
always got what the goddess mermaid of the islands wanted...


It so happened that during this tugfest of hearts
a lonely woman arrived in town, Jane by name,
a plain woman from the plains, she thought of herself;
she was an attractive woman, as far as mortal women go,
simple and plain, humble, faithful, true,
and endowed with the wisdom of her land.
She has lost her husband to a goddess,
and she was searching, but she did not know what for,
for she had never really known love...

Her pretty eyes were tinged with sadness,
her smile breaking with the same emptiness of the Tinmaker,
and when the Tinmaker saw her,
and she saw him, and their eyes met...

well, there are days when love explodes...


The village was a rough one, filled with eager ruffians,
and the Tinmaker knew he had to grab her fast.
He had only begun to move when she entered his shop,
and complimented him on his craftwork,
yet her eyes were captivated by him...

So there they stood, in silent wonder of one another,
their hearts secretly leaping with joy...


She returned often,
and the Tinmaker fashioned her his most exquisite objects,
and when he offered them to her,
she found herself returning his love...
and this terrified her, for it was a new feeling, love;
she hesitated, and the Tinmaker was also terrified,
of losing her...


The goddess mermaid of the islands returned during this time
with her most powerful spells,
and sea creatures who would force the Tinmaker to her boat
if her guiles failed;
they did, though he still struggled and tried to love her,
but his heart could find hers...
and so he was carried off to her boat
by her sea creatures, without love...


As dawn rose, Jane arrived at the Tinmaker shop,
with her usual high spirits and hopes
that the Tinmaker had given her,
and with fear of this new and strange feeling of love...

When she did not find him, she roamed,
and found herself at the shore,
and this is when she saw the Tinmaker
with the stunningly beautiful goddess mermaid of the islands...

She was heartbroken, of course, tears flowed,
she thought she and the Tinmaker had something beautiful together,
but knew she was no match for such a goddess,
and she silently sent out her blessing,
for there was nothing else she could do...


The Tinmaker sat at the rear of the mermaid’s boat,
saddened, knowing he was about to lose Jane;

Normally a man in a goddess boat
would be ecstatic, eagerly looking out to sea,
imagining what life would soon be like
on an island, with a goddess mermaid
who’s only request was that he make her feel like a woman...

The Tinmaker, however, knew that,
even though this job was every man’s desire,
there was no requirement for heart, or love;
he knew that any man could do the job...

So, instead of looking out to sea,
the Tinmaker gazed back toward the shore,
and caught the eyes of his Jane,
eyes that were saying goodbye...

and the boat slowly receded, farther out to sea,
with the Tinmaker looking back in anguish,
and Jane watching him disappear in the enchanted mist...


The mermaid was not unaware,
though she tried hard not to notice,
for she would have what she wanted,
and that was that...

then something inside her broke,
for seeing this, her heart had opened up,
for the first time in her life,
toward this Tinmaker and what he found in his Jane...

The goddess commanded that her boat turn around,
for in her newfound love,
she found that the happiness of another
mattered more then the pleasures one desires...
and it was the same love that she saw in Jane...

The goddess was content to have discovered love,
and would release the Tinmaker back into Jane’s arms.
With a sad expression, the goddess left the two together,
and then bid farewell to the land,
vowing never to return again.





















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