# Shoe Black explained — Poetry > Chapter companion for Poetry by James McIntyre. ## What happens A tragic poem about a young shoeblack boy who is struck by an unruly horse and later cared for by a kind man and a nurse. The boy, named Tom, recalls his deceased mother and dies after a vision of her and his brother beckoning him to Heaven. ## Themes in this chapter ### Mortality and Loss The poem centers on the death of a child and the loss of his mother, exploring themes of grief and the afterlife. ### Moral Lessons and Domestic Virtue The kindness of the man and nurse, and the boy's innocent faith, convey moral lessons about compassion and spiritual reward. ## Character check-ins ### Poor Tom The shoeblack boy who is injured by a horse and later dies, longing for his mother. ## Key lines > Shoe Black Gent on sidewalk held out his foot While boy in gutter brushed his boot, But at this time, how sad, alas, An unruly horse did o'er him pass. A gentleman on the sidewalk had his boot polished by a boy in the gutter, but tragically a wild horse ran over the boy. _Sets up the accident that leads to the boy's injury and eventual death._ > The child for friends he sad did lack, They said he was but a shoeblack, Kind hearted man the poor child bore, To a soft cot in back of store. The boy had no friends and was dismissed as just a shoeblack, but a kind man carried him to a soft bed in the back of a store. _Highlights the boy's social isolation and the compassion of a stranger._ > In his last sleep he had a dream, Shining up boots it was his theme. He soon awoke and called out, mother, I see you and little brother, Christ, I know, has me forgiven, For they are beckoning me to Heaven. In his final sleep, he dreamed of shining boots, then awoke and called for his mother, saying he saw her and his little brother, and that Christ had forgiven him as they beckoned him to Heaven. _Describes the boy's peaceful death and religious vision of reunion with his family._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_12_se/chapters/shoe-black - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_12_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_12_se/chapters