Poetry allows for writing to reveal transitional work and in this case the transitory connection between internal conflict and the will to grow. Louis Jenkins’s “Football” serves as a model for this effort. While the poem is about football and difficult choices, it disguises as the internal battles of the speaker as well. A notable take is how Jenkins guides the readers’ attention to the speaker and his confusing decisions he presents as a quarterback. Jenkins has the readers unknowingly focus in on the speaker himself and these odd comparisons and disconnecting ideas within his words. While his readers clearly identify football and the idea of being under pressure in a quarterback’s position through each line, readers see these examinations
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Not only connecting Jenkins’s parallels between football and business, but between any two important elements in a younger person’s life. Using the transition between sports as a first priority and exchanging that for responsibility in the business world, Jenkins allows the speaker to represent the adolescent and young adult population to narrow down his target audience. In this case, the speaker knows that pancakes and syrup are not of grave importance but by using this metaphor of how such a small decision can be irritating, the readers can better understand how every decision, large or small, can be problematic yet necessary. We can conclude then, that the speaker is using this transitional piece to project the internal battle of when and how to progress through one’s phases in life. While the poem is about leather-shoe footballs and syrup choices, it is much more so about the speaker’s internal battle of priorities and importance. Louis Jenkins’s poem “Football” can serve as a lesson for many student-athletes, not only football players. The message within this poem tells student-athletes that decisions must always be made, but it is never easy no matter the size of the problem. Some athletes will throw the shoe, others will keep
Not only connecting Jenkins’s parallels between football and business, but between any two important elements in a younger person’s life. Using the transition between sports as a first priority and exchanging that for responsibility in the business world, Jenkins allows the speaker to represent the adolescent and young adult population to narrow down his target audience. In this case, the speaker knows that pancakes and syrup are not of grave importance but by using this metaphor of how such a small decision can be irritating, the readers can better understand how every decision, large or small, can be problematic yet necessary. We can conclude then, that the speaker is using this transitional piece to project the internal battle of when and how to progress through one’s phases in life. While the poem is about leather-shoe footballs and syrup choices, it is much more so about the speaker’s internal battle of priorities and importance. Louis Jenkins’s poem “Football” can serve as a lesson for many student-athletes, not only football players. The message within this poem tells student-athletes that decisions must always be made, but it is never easy no matter the size of the problem. Some athletes will throw the shoe, others will keep