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

Ron Koertge cleverly invokes a sarcastic yet focused tone to instantiate the steps for the reader to take control of their life with the help of an extended metaphor in his poem "Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?" After pointing the reader to a library, Koertge paints a child fooling around as an individual refusing to live along the commonalities of society. This falls in line with the rejection of places where there are "more than three people wearing turtlenecks." Instead of living like all others – reading books and playing tennis in a muffled setting, as Koertge maintains – it is best for the advice seeker to, like the child, dismiss the reactions of onlookers. Instead, do the enjoyable and individualistic act. This method is unusual and does not fit in, but rather is best for the one doing so, as it will place the individual away from the crowd and helped the seeker of advice advance. Although this may cause others to frown, Koertge shows it is best for the one who takes action and should be repeated to fully set the individual apart from their peers.