Albergotti's 'Things to do' poem is public art in Charlotte

Wall Poems, an organization in Charlotte, N.C that receives funding from the Knight Foundation, produces poem-based public art pieces. And they've chosen one of Dan Albergotti's poems, "Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale," to be installed. In fact, as you can see in the picture, it is in the process of being painted on the side of a building. If you are in Charlotte, track it down and send us a picture of you with the piece. And check out the work being done by Goodyear Arts while you're at it!

Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale
by Dan Albergotti

Measure the walls. Count the ribs. Notch the long days.

Look up for blue sky through the spout. Make small fires

with the broken hulls of fishing boats. Practice smoke signals.

Call old friends, and listen for echoes of distant voices.

Organize your calendar. Dream of the beach. Look each way

for the dim glow of light. Work on your reports. Review

each of your life's ten million choices. Endure moments

of self-loathing. Find the evidence of those before you. 

Destroy it. Try to be very quiet, and listen for the sound

of gears and moving water. Listen for the sound of your heart.

Be thankful that you are here, swallowed with all hope,

where you can rest and wait. Be nostalgic. Think of all

the things you did and could have done. Remember

treading water in the center of the still night sea, your toes

pointing again and again down, down into the black depths.