“The Broken”
By E. E.
Rawls
One small china doll
She was sitting on a shelf in the
store.
For years having been there, watching
children come
Looking around and choosing the newest
and best toys,
Caring only about “appearances” and
how cool the toy was.
But no one…no one ever bothered to
look her way.
No one ever noticed her existence
Because she wasn’t beautiful
Hair and dress a tattered mess
A rag in doll form.
It would take a lot of money to fix
her
She wasn’t what people wanted to buy.
She wasn’t how they wanted her to be,
Blonde hair tangled
Scratch marks crossing her face
Blue dress torn and ripped with wear
and moths
Smears of dust streaking it…
No one would want her.
Who could ever love an ugly thing
like her and bring her home?
Who would take the extra trouble of
cleaning her up?
‘I don’t deserve a home, anyway,’ the doll
thought,
‘None, but to be cast in the Furnace
like straw.’
—as was done to ruined and unwanted
toys.
Soon, she would meet that fate, too
Consumed by those horrible flames.
A teardrop fell…
The door of the shop opened just
then:
A Son walked in, with His Father
beside Him.
Starting from one end of the store’s
small room
They took their time, inspecting each
shelf and what it held,
Examining the many toys lined up,
both new and old.
But the doll did not care.
She did not dare to hope,
She did not even lift her face to
see.
She had given that hope up a very
long time ago.
—Nobody would ever love her.
The Father’s steps halted and His
gaze came to a stop
Resting on a doll—the doll hidden and
tucked away
Within the last shelf’s darkest
corner.
He went to her
Lifted her up by one strong, gentle
hand.
“This one is worn…”
Her heart sank at the words
“…but within there is
potential. A repentant heart.”
The Father handed the doll over to
His Son to see.
“Potential…I will make use of it!”
said the Son
Holding her in His hand, His warmth
radiated
Like sunshine all around her, lifting
her sinking heart
Up to the surface of possible hope.
A tear dripped down, and the Son
wiped it off her cheek,
She stared back, thinking ‘Me?
Really?’
The unbeautiful, tattered mess?
“I’ll purchase you now, small one.
I know you will serve Me well, I know
your potential,
Your beauty in heart is great
Though your scratches and defects may
be many.
Fear not, for we purchase you as ours
That we may give you a home with us
Where all your tears shall vanish
And all injuries be erased and
mended,
Every scratch sown and every dusty
defect cleansed,
That you may live
And not be cast into the fiery
Furnace of Hell,
But live with us in our Kingdom
above.”
The china doll that nobody had ever
wanted
The tattered-mess rag doll nobody
could love, they had chosen her.
A surge of joy filled her, the spirit
of belief renewing her soul.
“I will make you new again.”
The Son, Jesus, paid the price needed
to purchase her.
For the very first time, the fragile
doll knew she was loved,
Carried away from a fiery fate
To the Kingdom of everlasting life
and love—a true home,
The rag doll
made anew.
Copyright 2017 by E. E. Rawls
This was a very nice inspirational piece with a happy ending :) I think telling it from the point of view of a doll was interesting and a good choice.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hazel! The idea was inspired by a Christian poem about a violin, in which the human was a violin and God was the violinist who repaired and fine tuned the instrument until it could play beautifully once more. :)
DeleteThat was a good story.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne!
DeleteThis is a nice analogy. A doll does work quite well for such a thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the analogy, Joseph!
DeleteAww, that was nice. :) I don't read poetry like that often so it was interesting to read in that form, too! Nicely done. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deborah! I like poems that are more like stories or analogies, so that's how I tried to write it. :)
DeleteI like how unusual this is; I don't think I've ever read anything in which a ragdoll represented a sinner. And I like your alliteration!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Abigail, I'm so glad you liked it!
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