And I was standing over there, rusting for the longest time.
…………………………………….– The Tin Man, The Wizard of Oz
..
To see
how far we’ve
……(cobbled)
come, you have to
understand: we stood there,
hearts
……………(or lack)
in hand and throat,
and wrote our own story.
I’m nothing,
if not tin and un
-oiled squeak, a sprong
of rotten joints and stuttered
step. And yet,
we sang. We danced
and held all that yellow
………(sun, brick, path)
in our trembling hands.
We’re crazy.
That’s what they say
now, but only we
were there, staring
……..at a curtain –
certain of our own
undoing. The wizard
boomed, and we
assumed the worst.
But see,
this was the moment
I was welded for, spelled
out in dreams and scattered
spare-part limbs.
The sky’s not full
of monkeys; it’s falling.
……….So are we.
Ready? And begin.
..
Awesome prompt from Mish over at dVerse.
To visit my corner of Oz further, see also:
this past one about Dorothy:
https://whimsygizmo.wordpress.com/2016/04/23/you-cant-buy-ruby-slippers-at-a-kansas-hardware-store/
…and apparently my brain goes to Oz, a LOT:
https://whimsygizmo.wordpress.com/2017/05/02/the-tin-man-finds-his-heart/
https://whimsygizmo.wordpress.com/2015/09/02/if-you-give-a-scarecrow-a-paintbrush/
https://whimsygizmo.wordpress.com/2015/05/19/patent-pending/
Whimsygizmo's Blog 
I like this – how the tin-man speaks for the group, defends their actions, questions the reader.
I love all your little twists De. So often we write our own story of failure instead of our story of success! The one we choose determines our outcome!
Love your Tinman’s voice.
The way you describe the song and dance of the tin man is so visual. My mind has already conjured up images of it. I like the way your poem builds and builds, falls then begins again. There is an epic quality to it.
You embraced the prompt, not only getting inside the Tin Man but offering a story within the story. I love this especially…….”this was the moment I was welded for, spelled out in dreams and scattered spare-part limbs”
You need to compile an Oz book, my friend.
TruE Those
Who LoVE
WithouT
heART
Are ofTen
GreaTesT TiN
PerSoN LoVeRS oF aLL..:)
I have to agree, ‘this was the moment I was welded for,’ you have a way with words.
Beautiful.
I love your Tin Man, De! I like the way he encourages the rest of the group and especially enjoyed the wordplay in:
‘I’m nothing,
if not tin and un
-oiled squeak, a sprong
of rotten joints and stuttered
step.’;
the internal rhyme in:
‘…but only we
were there, staring
……..at a curtain –
certain of our own
undoing’;
and
‘this was the moment
I was welded for, spelled
out in dreams and scattered
spare-part limbs’.
I love this!
>
Only you could come up with this brilliance:
“this was the moment
I was welded for”
I liked the part about assuming the worst when the wizard boomed and being only tin and un-oiled squeaks.
“The sky’s not full
of monkeys; it’s falling.
……….So are we.
Ready? And begin”
Fantastic.
Love your Tin Man, De. Start to finish, wonderful words, images, and ending!
“this was the moment I was welded for”… love it.