--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: down the sidewalk where laborers feed…" description: "\"down the sidewalk where laborers feed their dirty glistening torsos sandwiches and Coca-Cola, with yellow helmets on. They protect them from falling br..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/frank-o-hara-6706_bricks_down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-th_2653118.png" --- # down the sidewalk where laborers feed their dirty… ![“down the sidewalk where laborers feed their dirty glistening torsos sandwiches and Coca-Cola, with yellow helmets on. They protect them from falling bricks, I guess.” quote by Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/frank-o-hara-6706_bricks_down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-th_2653118.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/frank-o-hara-6706_bricks_down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-th_2653118.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/frank-o-hara-6706_bricks_down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-th_2653118.png) > “down the sidewalk where laborers feed their dirty glistening torsos sandwiches and Coca-Cola, with yellow helmets on. They protect them from falling bricks, I guess.” [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Workers navigate hazardous city life, protected by fragile safeguards, highlighting urban vulnerability. **In simple terms:** City workers face danger, rely on weak safety. Key Takeaway Advocate for better worker protections. Themes urban life labor danger Mood concerned reflective Type social political When to use this quote - city planning - policy making - public health Key Concepts safety social inequality human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve urban worker safety? - What responsibilities do societies have to protect laborers? A Different Perspective Safety measures may be insufficient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Coca cola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coca-cola/) [Dirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Feed Dirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feed-dirty-2366322/) [Helmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helmet/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Laborers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborers/) [Laborers Feed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborers-feed-2366321/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Sandwiches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sandwiches/) [Sidewalk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sidewalk/) [Sidewalk Laborers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sidewalk-laborers-2366320/) [Torso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torso/) [Yellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yellow/) ## Related quotes > [Lord Maccon believed that if his trousers were on his legs, and something else was on his torso, he was dressed. The less done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/lord-maccon-believed-that-if-his-trousers-were-on-his-legs-and/) [Gail Carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [Marilyn is a kind of ultimate. She is uniquely feminine. Everything she does is different, strange, and exciting, from the way she talks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-gable/marilyn-is-a-kind-of-ultimate-she-is-uniquely-feminine-everything-she/) [Clark Gable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-gable/) > [Without Britain, Europe would remain only a torso.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-erhard/without-britain-europe-would-remain-only-a-torso/) [Ludwig Erhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-erhard/) > [“Tris-"Sometimes all I want is to be a few inches taller so the world does not look like a dense collection of torsos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/tris-sometimes-all-i-want-is-to-be-a-few-inches-taller-so-the-world/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [He who seeks to approach his own buried past must conduct himself like a man digging. . . . He must not be afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/he-who-seeks-to-approach-his-own-buried-past-must-conduct-himself/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Clouds, torsos, shells, peppers, trees, rocks, smoke stacks, are but interdependent, interrelated parts of a whole, which is life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/clouds-torsos-shells-peppers-trees-rocks-smoke-stacks-are-but/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [The bulletproof vest--'bullet resistant,' technically--is made of two double panels of a synthetic material called Kevlar, inside a cloth carrier that holds it around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-conlon/the-bulletproof-vest-bullet-resistant-technically-is-made-of-two/) [Edward Conlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-conlon/) > [The best thing is to draw men and women from the nude and thus fix in the memory by constant exercise the muscles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-vasari/the-best-thing-is-to-draw-men-and-women-from-the-nude-and-thus-fix-in/) [Giorgio Vasari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-vasari/) > [Recently I have taken to isolating limbs, the torso. Why am I blamed for it? Why is the head allowed and not portions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/recently-i-have-taken-to-isolating-limbs-the-torso-why-am-i-blamed/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [Negro music has touched America because it is the melody of the soul joined with the rhythm of the machine. It is in two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-corbusier/negro-music-has-touched-america-because-it-is-the-melody-of-the-soul/) [Le Corbusier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-corbusier/) > [Every rein aid must be preceded by an action of the torso. Otherwise you only address the horse's head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuno-oliveira/every-rein-aid-must-be-preceded-by-an-action-of-the-torso-otherwise/) [Nuno Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuno-oliveira/) > [If you're gay, you're gay. It's my Dennis Miller theory of homosexuality shot through the movie "Boy and the Dolphin." If you're a 12-year-old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/if-you-re-gay-you-re-gay-it-s-my-dennis-miller-theory-of/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [That's all you get," said Alpharius, and split him in half. Alpharius sheathed his gladius, and dragged the sabre out of his torso. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-abnett/that-s-all-you-get-said-alpharius-and-split-him-in-half-alpharius/) [Dan Abnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-abnett/) > [In restaurants where they serve frog's legs, what do they do with the rest of the frog? Do they just throw it away? You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/in-restaurants-where-they-serve-frog-s-legs-what-do-they-do-with-the/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Curran and Kate stood by the door. “I can’t believe you decided to come down here and check on me,” she said. “The guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/curran-and-kate-stood-by-the-door-i-can-t-believe-you-decided-to-come/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) ## More by Frank O'Hara > [“The stars blink like a hairnet that was dropped / on a seat and now it is lying in the alley behind / the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/the-stars-blink-like-a-hairnet-that-was-dropped-on-a-seat-and-now-it/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [“It's a bright summer day, and I want to be wanted more than anything else in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/it-s-a-bright-summer-day-and-i-want-to-be-wanted-more-than-anything/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [See how free we are! as a nation of persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/see-how-free-we-are-as-a-nation-of-persons/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I don't believe in god, so I don't have to make elaborately sounded structures. ... Pain always produces logic, which is very bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-don-t-believe-in-god-so-i-don-t-have-to-make-elaborately-sounded/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/it-is-hard-to-believe-when-i-m-with-you-that-there-can-be-anything-as/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [“I am moved by the multitudes of your intelligence and sometimes, returning, I become the sea— in love with your speed, your heaviness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-am-moved-by-the-multitudes-of-your-intelligence-and-sometimes/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [When I am feeling depressed and anxious sullen all you have to do is take off your clothes and all is wiped away revealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/when-i-am-feeling-depressed-and-anxious-sullen-all-you-have-to-do-is/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I don't ... like rhythm, assonance, all that stuff. You just go on your nerve. If someone's chasing you down the street with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-don-t-like-rhythm-assonance-all-that-stuff-you-just-go-on-your/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [“One need never leave the confines of New York to get all the greenery one wishes--I can't even enjoy a blade of grass unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/one-need-never-leave-the-confines-of-new-york-to-get-all-the-greenery/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [“Now That I Am in Madrid I Can Think " I think of you and the continents brilliant and arid and the slender heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/now-that-i-am-in-madrid-i-can-think-i-think-of-you-and-the-continents/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [Kerouac: You're ruining American poetry, O'Hara. O'Hara: That's more than you ever did for it, Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/kerouac-you-re-ruining-american-poetry-o-hara-o-hara-that-s-more-than/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I am ashamed of my century, but I have to smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-am-ashamed-of-my-century-but-i-have-to-smile/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I call to the spirits of other lands to make fecund my existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-call-to-the-spirits-of-other-lands-to-make-fecund-my-existence/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [...but it is good to be several floors up in the dead of night wondering whether you are any good or not and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/but-it-is-good-to-be-several-floors-up-in-the-dead-of-night-wondering/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [There were occasionally rifts in the cloud where the face of a woman appeared, frowning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/there-were-occasionally-rifts-in-the-cloud-where-the-face-of-a-woman/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) [Explore all 98 Frank O'Hara quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) ## More Bricks quotes > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [That city is well fortified which has a wall of men instead of brick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-city-is-well-fortified-which-has-a-wall-of-men-instead-of-brick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [LEGO is universal. So many people enjoy it, from all different walks of life, all different ages, all different cultures. When I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-sawaya/lego-is-universal-so-many-people-enjoy-it-from-all-different-walks-of/) [Nathan Sawaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-sawaya/) > [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [The Brick House was one of the toughest joints I ever played in ... Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) > [I am always really buzzed after each performance, and at around one in the morning, Ill hit a brick wall and need to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-morahan/i-am-always-really-buzzed-after-each-performance-and-at-around-one-in/) [Hattie Morahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hattie-morahan/) > [“Savannah gray bricks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-andrews/savannah-gray-bricks/) [Mary Kay Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-andrews/) > [I still have the desire to do the job of acting. It's just a matter of whether I'll be allowed to do the job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-coleman/i-still-have-the-desire-to-do-the-job-of-acting-it-s-just-a-matter-of/) [Gary Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-coleman/) > [Rebuilding a network is a slow, brick-by-brick process. It's not just creating a hit show - it's building shows to back up that hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-moonves/rebuilding-a-network-is-a-slow-brick-by-brick-process-it-s-not-just/) [Leslie Moonves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-moonves/) > [Build your life brick upon brick, Live a life of truth, And you will look back on a life of truth. Live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/build-your-life-brick-upon-brick-live-a-life-of-truth-and-you-will/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [You have those walls up all around you...Come a day you gonna want to tear them down brick by brick and gonna find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/you-have-those-walls-up-all-around-you-come-a-day-you-gonna-want-to/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [“As an employee, you’re not supposed to say the bricks come from modern day Iran or modern day Turkey. No, they come from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-hill-jr/as-an-employee-you-re-not-supposed-to-say-the-bricks-come-from-modern/) [David A. Hill Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-hill-jr/) > [“Two bricks, parallel and horizontal, equals an equal sign. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/two-bricks-parallel-and-horizontal-equals-an-equal-sign/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Didn’t every new thing you did become a part of you, one of your bricks?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/didn-t-every-new-thing-you-did-become-a-part-of-you-one-of-your-bricks/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) [Browse all 587 Bricks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "down the sidewalk where laborers feed their dirty glistening torsos sandwiches and Coca-Cola, with yellow helmets on. They protect them from falling bricks, I guess.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank O'Hara" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-their-dirty-glistening-torsos/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bricks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-their-dirty-glistening-torsos/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/frank-o-hara-6706_bricks_down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-th_2653118.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/frank-o-hara-6706_bricks_down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-th_2653118.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/frank-o-hara-6706_bricks_down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-th_2653118.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“down the sidewalk where laborers feed their dirty glistening torsos sandwiches and Coca-Cola, with yellow…” — Frank O'Hara", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frank O'Hara", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "down the sidewalk where laborers feed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-their-dirty-glistening-torsos/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/down-the-sidewalk-where-laborers-feed-their-dirty-glistening-torsos/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```