As Max Stossel waited for a late train in New York City one day, he noticed a lot more than just a crowded platform. He paid attention to the frustrated fellow commuters, many of who made disgruntled noises to express their anger.
“I was annoyed as well, but gave up and started laughing, and as soon as I did others around me started laughing too,” Stossel told LittleThings in an email.
That’s where the inspiration for his poem, “Subway Love,” was created. The thought-provoking poem is accompanied by the below video, which shows just how much people can miss out on by focusing solely on a late train or perhaps by being angry with subway performers.
“What we don’t see is the tragedy at play as the love of each of our lives is standing just an arms length away. We won’t notice today. We see our soul mate as in the way of the beam of light we hope will display, indicating our train is not six but five seconds away,” the poem says.
Might sound unbelievable, but Stossel said one of the video’s producers, Sean Ferry, met his wife while using public transportation. Pretty awesome, right?
“When we rush through our lives, as so many New Yorkers do, it's easy to see these situations as deeply and personally unfair, but when we shift our perspective it becomes clear that we're all in it together. We're surrounded by some of the most awesome people on earth yet we just stand in stressed-silence,” Stossel added. “I hope this poem can change that.”
Watch the clip below and please SHARE to encourage people to open their eyes!
