This poem made me think about not letting your circumstances influence how you see yourself, how you carry yourself, or the decisions you make. For the first line, “The streets don't run me,” I wanted to incorporate a map of Syracuse. I found this old streetcar map, which is at the heart of the image. I wanted the man to be a part of the background image, but also separate from it. So I created him partly drawn, fading into a painting. He's a part of Syracuse, but he's also his own person. I liked the shape of the map, and it fit right there, branching out from the heart. The streets look like veins. I'm from Houston, but I've been here in Syracuse for four years. I made the man at the center of the image a person who looked similar to, or had the feeling of, the people I've seen downtown.