I have lived in New York City my whole life, but up until Tuesday’s tour of Madison Square Park and neighborhood, I have never noticed the floating hats at 23rd street or the beautiful architectures we have in the city. Since my parents moved to America, they have worked endless hours to provide a good life for my brother and I, and because of this, I have always felt a need to become financially successful. Being financially successful will make me capable of supporting my parents in the future when they can no longer support themselves. In the midst of working towards this goal, I never found time to truly appreciate the art thats around me in New York City. When I finally took the time to see what’s around me, I grew a new sense of awe for the city. It made my life before noticing the art seem so mundane. With seeing the art around me, I also found a new sense of motivation and appreciation for life; seeing so much life in the city makes life in general seem so much more enjoyable and intriguing. These series of thoughts were taken into account to make the poem I attached below.
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The city of lights
but I have narrowed my vision towards one sight.
One vision, one plan, one goal.
Financial success.
Stay focused, work hard, and don’t compromise
That’s how I’ll achieve what I seek.
library is home
read textbooks, complete assignments, repeat
the rewards of my effort will be sweet.
dreaming of visiting Paris and seeing the beauties oversees
knowing my success will get me there.
But little did I know,
what I seek is in front of my eyes if I took the time to stare.
The Courthouse down at Madison is there
It’s not Paris, but the building’s beauty sure is
My mind is in awe, when I see Beaux-Art intricately incorporated.
But, I can’t help but feel frustrated
Would I have missed this, if it was not for Tuesday?
Speaking of which
there’s floating hats on twenty-third.
Perhaps I am a nerd
Never have I noticed them until now
because my eyes were glued to
my one vison, one plan, one goal
The hats were so vibrant
shades of pink, blue, green.
Art is all around us
we need to stop and stare
because before you know it
it may be gone in a second
or never appreciated.
Life will be dated
with little inspiration to stay motivated
Anna, I love how personal your poem is and how your changed perspective of the city really shines through each line. I too understand the pressure of achieving financial freedom and supporting your parents who had sacrificed so much of their own life to improve their children’s. Coming from an immigrant family, I had barely seen my mother throughout the week as she was busy finding and working jobs while my grandmother stayed home to take care of me. And now, I see my dad working at a job he doesn’t love just to support our family, sacrificing his own ambitions for that of my brother and I’s. Although I am beyond grateful for all that my parents have done, and much like you, I dream of providing them a comfortable, worry-free life that they deserve, I sometimes feel guilty if I think I’m not doing enough to achieve that. It’s hard not to fall into that trap and manage the immense pressure of elevating your family’s financial status, but it’s also important to realize you have to take it easy and take care of yourself too. Our parents came here with the hopes of making our lives easier so we should try our best to truly appreciate everything we have around us- including the art.
Wow Anna! This is such a beautiful poem! I really love the rhyming scheme. I also like where you included pauses and breaks in between lines. It gives you time to really consider and understand the depth of the poetry and really think about the impact this art has on Manhattan.
This poem is extremely accurate in portraying the feelings of an ambitious student so hyper focused on their end goal, that they don’t notice what is right in front of them. I identify with your point that the narrator is glued to his/her goal and that made her lose sight of the valuable artistic creations that surrounded her.