"I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do."
When she published it in 1995, she was surely countering flashier versions of fame, maybe on the silver screen or the front page of the morning newspaper. My, how the world has changed since, where to be known now seems to rely on the total count of views and followers.
Like Nye reminds us, though--the buttonholes and pulleys have already made a name for themselves, so we're good.
I love that poem! I used to teach it, did you? It was so interesting to ask sixth graders what they wanted to be famous for, although it was usually not for smiling back. 😉
ReplyDeleteIf the world has ever been more in need of humble recognitions, it’s now! This post has such pure and simple beauty.
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