The Cold Within
Six humans trapped by happenstance
In dark and bitter cold
Each possessed a stick of wood--
Or so the story's told.
Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces around the fire,
She noticed one was black.
The next one looked cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And could not bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.
The third one sat in tattered clothes
He gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?
The rich man just sat back and thought
Of wealth he had in store,
And keeping all that he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight,
For he saw in his stick of wood
A chance to spite the white.
And the last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain,
Giving just to those who gave
Was how he played the game,
Their sticks held tight in death's stilled hands
Was proof enough of sin;
They did not die from cold without--
They died from cold within.
Commentary
Poetry of the distant past used often to be a medium to convey high-minded morals in a trite, sugar-coated package form. The form still survives, but is now usually thought of disparagingly (with good reason - consider those avoidable cloyingly sweet Hallmark cards, where one tends to gloss over the words as easily as water does off the cards) if at all. But every once in a while one comes across pieces like the one above where the words fit as neatly as if (dare I say it? :) God meant them to, and the thinly veiled message can be swallowed without too much effort.
This above piece is, iMho, a gem. I think it deserves a place in this forum, especially since minstrels is fast becoming a premier poetry archive :)
The place I read this poem (framed on a wall) attributed it to a high school student, sometime in the mid-1970s. A cursory search on the net hasn’t helped much either - was this teenage prodigy really a one-hit person? I wonder what happened to him…
–
Sidharth Jaggi
Show 11 commentsHide comments
From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
Priscilla Jebaraj · 7 May 2003
purely out of curiosity, i tried to trace james patrick kinney. even if his poem is no piece of genius, it seems to be widely quoted on the net, but there’s very little about the poet.
one website said he had studied at MIT.
he was apparently a member of the class of 1982. he seems to go by his second name, patrick.
until last year, he was the treasurer of the 1982 class reunion committee. he was recently a donor to the lewis media library at mit.
if anyone’s from mit, you can access the mit alumni info and find out more. somehow, after searching the net for him, i’m curious to see what j patrick kinney is doing with his life now.
regards
priscilla
Frank O'Shea · 7 May 2003
Not at all sugar coated. The message is a valid one and is all the better for being put into rhyme. Most readers of this site have an interest in poetry and critical faculties to decide whether a poem is good or not. But, and this is in no way meant to be patronising, the great majority of non-poetry lovers will read this and like it because they can understand what it is saying and appreciate the way it says it. They may not ever read Pound or Williams (and I don’t blame them) but they will read this. Thanks for putting it up on the site and thanks Sidharth.
Frank
Highland David · 7 May 2003
Regarding the identity/fate of the poet, the following letter appeared in a Dear Abby column on October 25, 1999, indicating that he was in his 40s when he wrote the poem. The letter doesn’t indicate if he wrote/published anything else of note.
DEAR ABBY: My husband, James Patrick Kinney, wrote the poem “The Cold Within” in the 1960s. It is gratifying to know he left something behind that others appreciate. He submitted it to the Saturday Evening Post; however, it was rejected as “too controversial for the times. Jim was active in the ecumenical movement. His poem was sent in to the Liguorian, a Catholic magazine. That was its first official publication to my knowledge. Since then, it has appeared in church bulletins, teaching seminars and on talk radio, listed as “Author Unknown. If that was done for legal protection, I understand. My family is always happy to see it appear, but we do think the true author should be given credit. Jim died at 51 of a heart attack on May 23, 1973, after retiring to Sarasota, Fla. My second marriage was to Homer Kenny, a Sarasota widower, so I became … Mrs. James Kinney-Kenny
david
Ian Baillieu · 13 May 2003
Evidently there has been more than one James Patrick Kinney!
As moralising verse goes, I agree this is better than average, and the scenario is memorable even if far-fetched.
Yet it does have some blemishes that could easily have been fixed. Are those due to the amateur authorship, or errors in the work’s reproduction here? In the 1st line of the 3rd verse, ‘cross’ should surely be ‘across’, otherwise the rhythm stumbles. The rhythm misses a beat in the 3rd line of the 6th verse. Each comma in the 4th and 7th verses should be a full stop. Finally, what is the point of making the first human described a woman, when all the others are men? As a detail it distracts, because it seems arbitrary. Unnecessary to the allegory, and too asymmetrical to introduce gender equality.
Reverend Martha Simmons · 25 October 2003
I need to know how to contact Mr. James Patrick Kenney. I want to obtain his permission to use his poem “The Cold Within”, in a sermon.
Thank you.
Martha Simmons
Mary Langley · 27 November 2003
The allegory “The Cold Within” is as meaningful today as the day it was written.. If the world could understand the meaning of the allegory and take heed, we could have the peaceful kingdom that God meant for us in the beginning. How apropos the allegory in light of our present conflict. Thank Mrs. James Kinney-Kenny for her information. I am using the poem in my devotional this week. I will give both her and Jammes Kinney credit that they deserve. What a legacy to leave the world and his family.
Equinewoman90 · 9 March 2004
This poem is one of the best I have read.
Kelee · 22 December 2005
A great poem/tool for teaching interlocutors (esp. juvenile delinquents)the benefits of being open minded towards people different from their own kind. I add a spin to it to create dialogue but I would love to know the true story that this poem is based on other than the common one at hand, if there is one. Thank you Patrick. Javier
Dakatajean6 · 1 April 2006
This is one of the best poems I have ever heard
Penny Hansen · 18 May 2007
I also would like permission to use this poem in a Life Skills book for Grade 11 learners in South Africa. Where can I get permission? Who holds the copyright?
Penny Hansen
Dale Hellman · 16 December 2007
I first became aware of this poem through my work news letter for the Kansas Highway Patrol, in 1988. It was indicated as a young man in the 8th grade wrote the poem.
This poem is absolutely the most compelling, thought provoking piece of literature ever written. Description of human nature could not have been said better in a novel of a thousand pages. If we all could see the meaning and change our behavior, then the fire would never go out around the world. Beautiful !