https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/24/nyregion/public-lives-not-a-good-day-to-be-the-mailman.html
For my poetry pairing I used an article from the New York Times titled PUBLIC LIVES; Not a Good Day to Be the Mailman written by Corey Kilgannon and wrote a poem titled Consuming Success. What my poem, the picture, and the story have in common is the theme of hard work and persistence. In the story about the mailman, the odds are against him everyday that he goes to work. He does not get down about having to work through “the coldest route in New York”, yet he just powers through each and every day which shows how persistent he is for supplying for his family. Every day for work Mr. Kalmanson would simply dress warm and brave the elements outside in NYC without complaining. This story was where I got inspired to write my poem about hard work and persistence. It really brought to light the struggles and obstacles that some people have to go through and the ways you can deal with it. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a high paying job with great benefits, so you have to work with what you have. You can either complain about not having what you want or suck it up and work hard like Mr. Kalmanson. My metaphors come straight from the themes of hard work, persistence, and dedication shown by Mr. Kalmanson. I tried to make my metaphors as relatable as possible to readers, so people can understand the type of struggles Mr. Kalmanson has to deal with every day at work. The quote I chose from my article that highlights persistence is ”What can you do? Life takes you where it takes you.” This shows that you just have to keep powering through the hardest obstacles in life to become or stay successful because there is no giving up when it comes to supplying for your family.
The image I chose represents persistence because it is a woman knowing she is failing to achieve her goals but is staying persistent and not giving up. This woman could be in any situation like she is now, but she knows that persistence and hard work is all she needs to be able to achieve her dreams.
Consuming Success
What is persistence?
Persistence calls into your soul
And settles down right in front of you
On a gold plate for anyone to eat
Persistence is the fuel to your dreams
You don’t need any fancy utensils to consume it
Nor do you need a microscope to find it
It is available on everyone’s plate
You simply just need to stab it with your fork and eat it
What is persistence?
It is a dog trying to get its ball from under the couch
It is a newborn baby learning to walk
It is NASA attempting to launch its first rocket into space