I had never thought that a normal deli store conversation can become a poem until I read the “Counterman” in the last class. The whole poem is surrounded by how a counterman takes care of the different sandwich orders from the customers in a rush hour. We read the poem three times in the class. The more we read about it, the more intense of the feeling I get form the counterman.

As I was reading this poem, I think of the New York City deli stores. Most of the New Yorkers have a very busy life, so they do things quicker than others. Whenever you go to a deli store or fast food restaurant in lunch hours, you will see the counterman takes order as fast as they can because they want to save more time for the next customers. Paul Violi was born in the New York City, so he definitely understands the same feeling, hence he wrote this poem. I also feel like it is an amazing story for telling the people about the food industry as art through a poem.