Hector the Collector

HECTOR THE COLLECTOR

by Shel Silverstein

Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin' guns that wouldn't shoot,
Leaky boats that wouldn't float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn't toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.

Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
'Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.

Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin' gold.
Hector called to all the people,
"Come and share my treasure trunk!"
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked...and called it junk.

A seemingly harmless poem about an overly enthusiastic collector kid right?  Taking it one step further, and this guy might just be the next person on TV for excessive hoarding.  But this is actually one of my favorite poems from lit class in 11th grade.  Throughout our poetry unit, we'd always get a new poem at the start of each lesson, and this is one of the few poems I still remember to this day.  We'd only have a couple minutes to analyze it and share our reflections, and I still vividly remember my reflections from way back then.  

I don't know why I analyze poems the way I do, but this particular poem brings up 3 vivid images instantly for me.  My first thought was, "Dude, this is Jesus in John 1! Everything Jesus held so dearly to Him--the rejected, the poor, the blind, and the lame--were rejected by everyone else He invited to the feast."  To this day, this poem asks me the questions, "What about Jesus' message are you rejecting?", "Which parts of the gospel are you picking for yourself to believe and which are you ignoring?"  Being the exclusive human being I am, I all too often end up selecting bits and pieces of people I like while rejecting the rest.  If I'm not vigilant and not kept in check, I very quickly end up doing this with my faith.

The next image this poem paints is a 3 year-old Isaac bringing a ladybug to my mom.  I don't remember this as well as my mom does, but I'll try to recount the story the way she does.  It was a summer day, and I hurriedly ran into the kitchen where my mom was working.  I told her that I had a present for her, and I excitedly told her to open her hand.  Then I placed a ladybug on her palm.  Being the bug-fearing person she is, my mom surprisedly shook the bug off her hand and was about to reprimand me for bringing a bug into the house.  But upon seeing my hurt and innocent face, she momentarily paused her scolding to hear me say, "No mom, this is a different, pretty bug."  Then I picked up the bug and showed it to her again, and to her surprise, she actually saw the beautiful dotted patterns on the back of the bug.  This poem reminds me that no matter who in this world rejects you, there's always family who's there to trust you and try harder to see the good in my "junk." 

Of course, then this brings me to my last point: our heavenly Father.  It's funny how Isaiah 64:6 says that even our acts of righteous deeds are like filthy rags to Him.  Given that, why does God still take the filthy rags and smile on them?  When everyone I call (possibly even my family) "comes and looks... and calls it junk," I know there'll be One that'll take me just as I am.  Again, why?  I think I'll never be able to fully answer or even understand that question.  And I'm OK with it~ After all, like my 3 year-old self, I honestly don't know that much :) 

Isaiah 64:6a

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;"