Famous

FAMOUS
by Naomi Shihab Nye from Under the Words:  Collected Poems (Far Corner Books)

The river is famous to the fish.

The loud voice is famous to silence,

which knew it would inherit the earth

before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds

watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom

is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth,

more famous than the dress shoe,

which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it

and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men

who smile while crossing streets,

sticky children in grocery lines,

famous as the one who smiled back.

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.

   
    Andy Warhol once remarked that, "In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes."  With the advent of the reality TV, You Tube, Twitter, and yes, even blogs, what once was hyperbole is becoming reality; although one could argue that the digital age has brought more people notoriety than fame.

    According to Merriam-Webster, famous can be defined as "widely known," or "honored for achievement."  The way the word famous is used in Naomi Shihab Nye's poem hovers between the two.  The objects are famous because they are well known but there is also a type of famous that she desires-- the famous that comes from always remembering our potential. 

    And that is an achievement that should be honored.  

   
   What have you forgotten that you can do?