In the poem, “The Caring Heart,” Walker Hoffman talks about how one person who cares for another can change someone’s life entirely. In his poem the line “That one person can change your life,” I think this line alone tells the main message on what he is trying to say that one single person can change your whole outcome on how you feel, see things, and experience things. He explains ways that the person could change your life in a way of opening your eyes to the world, changing the feelings you once had from loneliness to happiness, and what you could also learn from this experience as the person who felt like they had no one there.
How he starts the poem is by saying “Being alone is hard to bear / Our minds, our hearts, emotions everywhere” which I think everyone can agree with being lonely is very hard to deal with because it’s like an empty void you have to live in for eternity with no sounds, voices, or people walking around. I also agree that when we are lonely our minds make us think horrible things, our hearts take us to places we don’t want to be in, and our emotions are just hard to control. How he organized his poem is with a description structure to it since he’s describing ways how the person can change your life. How the author has ended his poem was by saying “Because they were the one who found / You, and only you,” this explains the results of someone who actually changed your life and cared for you when you needed someone there for you. They found your true self when no one else could, not even you. They looked past all your emotions, fears, and memories and found who you truly were.
The lines that really catch my attention are “A hug, to help you get rid of your tears / And cure the bad memories that happened to you over the years” because this sentence really puts me at peace, everyone wants their bad memories gone and to know that someone who is close to your heart can do that. Another reason why I like those lines so much is because a hug can help a lot of things and it's very comforting to receive or give a hug to someone else because it makes you feel safe and protected, like you two aren't the only ones there helping, and it gives you peace from anything that is hurting you emotionally. The author uses different styles of rhyme like in the first stanza he uses AAAA type rhyming, in the second stanza he uses ABAB type rhyming, and in the fourth stanza he uses AABB type rhyming. Throughout his poem you can also find some anaphora repetition in his poem, for example in stanza three, it says “Make you see the bright blue sky / Make you watch the clouds as the birds fly by / Make you seem like you’ll be able to try,” for each line it repeats “Make you.” What I think this poem is trying to make you feel is benevolent towards others who really need someone there for them and inspiring since how one person can inspire you to change your life through emotions.
I think the whole purpose the author wrote this poem was because his experience in someone caring for him that changed his life around. What he’s trying to persuade us in doing is that we should be the one who should be there for others and care for them so they can see the colors of the world instead of seeing black and white from the darkness they’re in. Let people know that someone does care about them, help them out when they need it and they’ll do the same when you need it the most. Cherish that person in your heart and never forget who they really are.
