a tree breathing through its spectacles...

Frank O’Hara

Having a Coke with You

and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism
just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or
at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me
and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them
when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank

*

O’Hara, a genius with detail, at the top of his form, pulls the reader into an absolutely personal moment that could not be more real. And this piece is exemplary in showcasing the range of his skills. There’s an utter ease with the language. Most importantly, the reader, never doubting the poetry or the poet, is at home in this work.