The Man Who Warmed &#;The Cold Within&#;
My Interview with the Son of Poet James Patrick Kinney
by Susan Hawkins
I hope you’re on this page because you just read our featured poem, &#;The Cold Within&#;. If not, you might just want to click here to read the poem and the story behind it, so you’ll know why we think James Patrick Kinney should be celebrated as a man who brought the ideals in Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If” to life.
The author of &#;The Cold Within&#;, James Patrick Kinney, was born on March 16, , in Cincinnati, Ohio. On May 29, , he left this world, and he left it better than he found it. A man of integrity, Kinney lived his principles and created a poem that spoke his heart. And if you think it’s the only poem he wrote—you’d be wrong.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Jim Kinney’s son, Timothy, about his father, the poem, and the possible consequences of doing the right thing. Here, as they say, is the rest of the story—and more:
SH: When the Cheviot city council changed the law eliminating the curfew for African Americans in your city, was the struggle over?
TK: My father had been warned that opposing the City Council was not a very smart thing to
The Cold Within - James Patrick Kinney.
Presentation on theme: "The Cold Within - James Patrick Kinney."— Presentation transcript:
1 The Cold Within- James Patrick Kinney
2 Six humans trapped by happenstance
Six humans trapped by happenstance In bleak and bitter cold Each one possessed a stick of wood, Or so the story's told.
3 Their dying fire in need of logs,
Their dying fire in need of logs, The first man held his back For of the faces around the fire He noticed one was black.
4 The next man looking ‘cross the way
The next man looking ‘cross the way Saw one not of his church, And couldn't bring himself to give The fire his stick of birch.
5 The third one sat in tattered clothes. He gave his coat a hitch
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?
6 The rich man just sat back and thought. Of the wealth he had in store
The rich man just sat back and thought Of the wealth he had in store. And how to keep what he had earned From the lazy, shiftless poor.
7 The black man's face bespoke revenge
The black man's face bespoke revenge As the fire passed from
The Cold Within
By James Patrick Kinney
From
SPIRITUAL AND INSPIRATIONAL
POETRY ARCHIVES
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THE COLD WITHIN by Susan Hawkins If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run… The imagery is incredibly profound. In his poem “If”, Rudyard Kipling eloquently declares it one of the hallmarks of manhood, and we understand the analogy. RK cleverly left the details to us. We each choose what makes those sixty seconds worthwhile. The late James P. Kinney ran the distance fueled by a sense of justice, and he changed the world for the better. His most famous poem, &#;The Cold Within&#;, is simple, straightforward and powerful, which, as you’ll soon learn, also describes the man who wrote it. When you understand the man, you&#;ll see why he wrote the poem. First, the story, then the poem. Thanks to Timothy Kinney, James Kinney’s son, we have insight into the man behind this now-classic poem: The story I’m about to tell you is from my memory of the story that my mother told of that time, so the details can be regarded with reasonable suspicion, but I believe it to be generally accurate. When I was a young boy we lived in Cheviot, Ohio, which is a township on the west side of Cinci
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By James Patrick Kinney (see end note)
Six humans trapped by happenstance
In dark and bitter cold
Each one possessed a stick of wood,
Or so the story's told.
Their dying fire in need of logs,
The first woman held hers back.
For on the faces around the fire,
She noticed one was black.
The next man looking cross the way,
Saw one not of his church,
And couldn't 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 the wealth he had in store.
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from sight,
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.
The last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
The lo
&#;The Cold Within&#; by James Patrick Kinney: Poem. Purpose. Progress.
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