Post 1 "Do You Have Any Advice For Those Of Us Just Starting Out?" Karl Werner

 “Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?"

Ron Koertge

Give up sitting dutifully at your desk. Leave
your house or apartment. Go out into the world.

It's all right to carry a notebook but a cheap
one is best, with pages the color of weak tea
and on the front a kitten or a space ship.

Avoid any enclosed space where more than
three people are wearing turtlenecks. Beware
any snow-covered chalet with deer tracks
across the muffled tennis courts.

Not surprisingly, libraries are a good place to write.
And the perfect place in a library is near an aisle
where a child a year or two old is playing as his
mother browses the ranks of the dead.

Often he will pull books from the bottom shelf.
The title, the author's name, the brooding photo
on the flap mean nothing. Red book on black, gray
book on brown, he builds a tower. And the higher
it gets, the wider he grins.

You who asked for advice, listen: When the tower
falls, be like that child. Laugh so loud everybody
in the world frowns and says, "Shhhh."

Then start again.

Koertge, Robert. "“Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?"" Poetry 180- Break(Library of Congress). Red Hen Press, 2006. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. <http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/007.html>.

The theme displayed in this poem more universal than cultural. The poem gives advice, telling the reader to avoid stuffy "turtleneck" situations, quit sitting behind a desk, and get out in the world. The author also calls on his audience to, when their "tower falls", simply laugh and start again. Those starting out in any culture can take heed of this message. Across the global, young up-and-comers can live by these words and find success. All of us starting our lives on our own should listen and "Go out into the world", and not be disheartened by failure. From Academy student to Australian, we can all benefit from this theme of going out there, living life, and laughing through one's mistakes.

I chose this poem because I found it applies to my current situation in life. A senior in high school, I consider myself "just starting out". I have to pick a college in the near future, and after that comes one more life-altering decision after another. All of us are experiencing this right now. As it functions as advice to people in this or in similar situations, the theme of this poem resonated with me. I felt I had gained insight into the decisions I will make in the coming months. Additionally, the optimistic, bright tone of this poem ("kitten or a space ship", "the wider he grins") helped create a reading experience that was both light and enlightening. Koertge's poem gives relevant advice in a positive manner, making for an enjoyable and educational read. That is why I chose this poem.