*Feb 08 2026 | Poem by Frank O'Hara
Original topic subject: February 8, 2026 Poem by Frank O'Hara
Talk The Poetry Collective
Join LibraryThing to post.
1DebiCates
Poem
by Frank O'Hara, 1959 (1926–1966, American)
Light Clarity avocado salad in the morning
after all the terrible things I do how amazing it is
to find forgiveness and love, not even forgiveness
since what is done is done and forgiveness isn't love
and love is love nothing can ever go wrong
though things can get irritating boring and dispensable
(in the imagination) but not really for love
though a block away you feel distant the mere presence
changes everything like a chemical dropped on paper
and all thoughts disappear in a strange quiet excitement
I'm sure of nothing but this, intensified by breathing
The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara
by Frank O'Hara, 1959 (1926–1966, American)
Light Clarity avocado salad in the morning
after all the terrible things I do how amazing it is
to find forgiveness and love, not even forgiveness
since what is done is done and forgiveness isn't love
and love is love nothing can ever go wrong
though things can get irritating boring and dispensable
(in the imagination) but not really for love
though a block away you feel distant the mere presence
changes everything like a chemical dropped on paper
and all thoughts disappear in a strange quiet excitement
I'm sure of nothing but this, intensified by breathing
The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara
2DebiCates
I selected this poem because I wanted to celebrate and commemorate watching the 2016 movie Paterson written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The first book of poetry seen in the film is one by O'Hara, Lunch Poems.
I'll write more about the film later over on The Poetry Collective Special Events thread
https://www.librarything.com/topic/378205#
Spoiler Alert: I'd rate the film 6 stars out of 5. I didn't so much watch the film as I lived it.
I'll write more about the film later over on The Poetry Collective Special Events thread
https://www.librarything.com/topic/378205#
Spoiler Alert: I'd rate the film 6 stars out of 5. I didn't so much watch the film as I lived it.
3GregM3
Thanks for sharing it Debi!
I don't think I've read much O'Hara before, and I have not yet managed to see the movie. I still intend to, and your rating encourages me to find the time very soon!
I like the unfiltered nature of it; it's close to the raw mental meanderings of the moment. Those meanderings sort of fall into the image of the chemical dropped on paper, and the poem sits with that image/metaphor at the end. The mere presence of the "you" changes everything.
I don't think I've read much O'Hara before, and I have not yet managed to see the movie. I still intend to, and your rating encourages me to find the time very soon!
I like the unfiltered nature of it; it's close to the raw mental meanderings of the moment. Those meanderings sort of fall into the image of the chemical dropped on paper, and the poem sits with that image/metaphor at the end. The mere presence of the "you" changes everything.
4DebiCates
>3 GregM3: I found this poem one of his more accessible of what I could find online. Today I love it more than I did when I posted it. It reminds me of stream of consciousness, as do all his poems I read which was just half a dozen, I guess.
I like how he included the avocado salad breakfast! I thought we didn't invent the avocado until the 1980s. ha ha But here it is, written the year of my birth, 1959.
When I typed it, I kept wanting to put in periods or commas, but I found that there are no periods and only two commas. What that does, I found, is forces you to think about what he is saying in a way that maybe resembles how it would be listening to another person's developing thoughts where they themselves are modifying what they are saying to themselves on the fly. To start the poem as he does, with light clarity made me immediately feel a breezy sort of happy rambling.
You really must watch the film, Greg. It is unbelievably good. Does your spouse like films? It would be a great one to watch together, cuddled on the sofa.
I like how he included the avocado salad breakfast! I thought we didn't invent the avocado until the 1980s. ha ha But here it is, written the year of my birth, 1959.
When I typed it, I kept wanting to put in periods or commas, but I found that there are no periods and only two commas. What that does, I found, is forces you to think about what he is saying in a way that maybe resembles how it would be listening to another person's developing thoughts where they themselves are modifying what they are saying to themselves on the fly. To start the poem as he does, with light clarity made me immediately feel a breezy sort of happy rambling.
You really must watch the film, Greg. It is unbelievably good. Does your spouse like films? It would be a great one to watch together, cuddled on the sofa.
5elenchus
Unfamiliar with this poem and my first impression is of entering the wrong door, seeing things from the wrong angle. I didn't get any empathy for the narrator, instead a distinct impression they have not been a nice person and while acknowledging this, don't seem particularly concerned to make amends, nor especially pained for the way things stand with the other(s) they have mistreated or been callous toward. That avacado salad, rather than giving a very specific instance of the narrator's present moment, comes across as merely flippant.
It is something of a miracle when I, as a reader, almost immediately sync with the writer, seem to almost effortlessly enter the mindset of a narrator or set of characters, when I confidently feel I understand the situation described exactly right. And so instances like this remind me: that miracle doesn't always happen. It could be the words aren't crafted well enough to allow it, could be instead the reader doesn't have the necessary perspective to let the words work as intended and as they do for other readers. Perhaps that's what's happening here for me. I will come back and read another time and see if anything changes.
It is something of a miracle when I, as a reader, almost immediately sync with the writer, seem to almost effortlessly enter the mindset of a narrator or set of characters, when I confidently feel I understand the situation described exactly right. And so instances like this remind me: that miracle doesn't always happen. It could be the words aren't crafted well enough to allow it, could be instead the reader doesn't have the necessary perspective to let the words work as intended and as they do for other readers. Perhaps that's what's happening here for me. I will come back and read another time and see if anything changes.
6DebiCates
>5 elenchus: I appreciate your honest and thoughtful comments. Sincerely.
I don't know enough about O'Hara to put any further context on his poem that might help.
I was amenable to him--sought him out actually--because of the film Paterson where O'Hara isn't key but it is the first book of poetry that we see in the film. I came to his work wanting to like his poems (I immensely liked the fictional poet Paterson) so that helped me overcome an artist/person that I might not exactly admire. I get that the narrator (seems like O'Hara himself) is a person allowing himself to think what he thinks and put it out there without immense filtering (that's all of his poems of his I read felt to me). I also spent quite a bit of time with this one before posting it, the equivalent of probably ten read throughs. Not to say that you will like it better after you come back to it but perhaps it will be less off-putting. Or not.
By the way, I did notice O'Hara included a lot of mentions of food in his poems. They are like...Instagram photos of meals! Important to the moment only, captured as part of a personal moment, but not especially important in and of themselves except how they are punctuations in our days.
I should learn more about O'Hara since I posted this poem. I should do that to help put this single floating poem in some sort of better context perhaps. But, I also feel a poem (any art) first must stand on its own before those other contexts matter. It's always a bit of a conundrum for me--the dichotomy of art and the artist. Do you find that true too?
I don't know enough about O'Hara to put any further context on his poem that might help.
I was amenable to him--sought him out actually--because of the film Paterson where O'Hara isn't key but it is the first book of poetry that we see in the film. I came to his work wanting to like his poems (I immensely liked the fictional poet Paterson) so that helped me overcome an artist/person that I might not exactly admire. I get that the narrator (seems like O'Hara himself) is a person allowing himself to think what he thinks and put it out there without immense filtering (that's all of his poems of his I read felt to me). I also spent quite a bit of time with this one before posting it, the equivalent of probably ten read throughs. Not to say that you will like it better after you come back to it but perhaps it will be less off-putting. Or not.
By the way, I did notice O'Hara included a lot of mentions of food in his poems. They are like...Instagram photos of meals! Important to the moment only, captured as part of a personal moment, but not especially important in and of themselves except how they are punctuations in our days.
I should learn more about O'Hara since I posted this poem. I should do that to help put this single floating poem in some sort of better context perhaps. But, I also feel a poem (any art) first must stand on its own before those other contexts matter. It's always a bit of a conundrum for me--the dichotomy of art and the artist. Do you find that true too?
7DAGray08
>1 DebiCates: I'll admit I've only read one O'Hara poem before ('The Day Lady Died'). And in that one I found his associative style really challenging, though it's not much different than the way the mind works, having a loose connection of profound thoughts during the simple acts of eating, walking down sidewalks, going in and out of places. It challenges the idea some of us are taught that these insights are profound epiphanies.
I'm perplexed by the line 'though a block away you feel distant the mere presence'. Perhaps it's the 'you' which makes its only appearance, a conversation with the reader? or the person who has done the forgiving? the presence of that person a block away? or of forgiveness or something else. I love where it brings us, after seeming to worry about those 'terrible things' and despite his words, doubts over whether forgiveness has been granted (just in the way the speaker is overthinking it), the presence brings a comfortable zenlike blankness.
I'm perplexed by the line 'though a block away you feel distant the mere presence'. Perhaps it's the 'you' which makes its only appearance, a conversation with the reader? or the person who has done the forgiving? the presence of that person a block away? or of forgiveness or something else. I love where it brings us, after seeming to worry about those 'terrible things' and despite his words, doubts over whether forgiveness has been granted (just in the way the speaker is overthinking it), the presence brings a comfortable zenlike blankness.
8Interstellar_Octopus
"Light Clarity avocado salad in the morning
after all the terrible things I do how amazing it is
to find forgiveness and love,"
These opening lines suggest to me this poem is about someone who has had an argument with their lover the night before, only to wake up in the morning and find they have been forgiven. In light of this the morning seems fresh and bright and so to does the food, but as they eat and ponder their thoughts start to get away from them. They doubt whether the forgiveness is real or whether is it just 'love' overpowering it all. Forgiveness feels to slow and genuine an emotion for the narrator. Love on the other hand—a word so overused in the poem that loses its shine—feels fast and frightening, more so an addicting infatuation than approximating what I think of as love. An infatuation so powerful is burns like chemicals on paper, that makes all else seem irritating and boring in comparison, an infatuation you can feel from a block away.
It seems so desperately unsustainable. I wonder whether this poem describes an affair, or at least a fling. Is that what the narrator wants forgiveness for? Do they have enough awareness to see how unstable this relationship is, and if they do, I wonder whether they care, or if they are just along for the ride, till it crashes, till reality hits? Possibly I'm reading this poem as too sinister, and this lack of balance is not uncommon when one falls in love, so to speak. I have never fallen in love so I'm not entirely sure I trust my reading of such things.
after all the terrible things I do how amazing it is
to find forgiveness and love,"
These opening lines suggest to me this poem is about someone who has had an argument with their lover the night before, only to wake up in the morning and find they have been forgiven. In light of this the morning seems fresh and bright and so to does the food, but as they eat and ponder their thoughts start to get away from them. They doubt whether the forgiveness is real or whether is it just 'love' overpowering it all. Forgiveness feels to slow and genuine an emotion for the narrator. Love on the other hand—a word so overused in the poem that loses its shine—feels fast and frightening, more so an addicting infatuation than approximating what I think of as love. An infatuation so powerful is burns like chemicals on paper, that makes all else seem irritating and boring in comparison, an infatuation you can feel from a block away.
It seems so desperately unsustainable. I wonder whether this poem describes an affair, or at least a fling. Is that what the narrator wants forgiveness for? Do they have enough awareness to see how unstable this relationship is, and if they do, I wonder whether they care, or if they are just along for the ride, till it crashes, till reality hits? Possibly I'm reading this poem as too sinister, and this lack of balance is not uncommon when one falls in love, so to speak. I have never fallen in love so I'm not entirely sure I trust my reading of such things.
9elenchus
I am left with the impression the poet (or at least, the narrator of this poem) is careful to be honest with his assessments, rather than somehow aiming to impress the reader. Whether the honest portrayal is considered honourable or not, isn't clear to me.
all thoughts disappear in a strange quiet excitement
I'm sure of nothing but this, intensified by breathing
Is the "this" of the second line the quiet excitement in which thoughts disappear? And this state is intensified by breathing?
It is an odd thing to be sure of, if one is sure of only that thing. It suggests to me, rather, the poet is sure of nothing at all, which loops back to @Interstellar_Octopus 's idea that love, here, is an infatuation, something bodily overpowering just as the physical state of excitement overpowers all thought.
all thoughts disappear in a strange quiet excitement
I'm sure of nothing but this, intensified by breathing
Is the "this" of the second line the quiet excitement in which thoughts disappear? And this state is intensified by breathing?
It is an odd thing to be sure of, if one is sure of only that thing. It suggests to me, rather, the poet is sure of nothing at all, which loops back to @Interstellar_Octopus 's idea that love, here, is an infatuation, something bodily overpowering just as the physical state of excitement overpowers all thought.
10DebiCates
>7 DAGray08: I have to say that most of my thoughts would be eye-watering boring if they were streamed out into the world. Epiphanies? They are too few and too far between.
Ah, but it was different when I was younger, when I was in love. Epiphanies felt like stars in the sky.
Reading it again today, I recognize an emotional honesty in this poem. I'm sure that is precisely because it is a stream of consciousness, not a long-deliberated, cool-headed backward assessment. It feels young if not downright self-centered. Certainly this is not a poem written by an old man who may have figured out how to finally make love last or may be figuring out why none of his loves lasted.
I think that's why I liked it. It's captured that time in our lives when we think we deserve love. And expect forgiveness.
Then, I love how you describe it, that it all goes into the zenlike blankness of happiness. He feels the physical nearness of "you," (which I read to be his lover). And love takes over like a chemical.
Ah, but it was different when I was younger, when I was in love. Epiphanies felt like stars in the sky.
Reading it again today, I recognize an emotional honesty in this poem. I'm sure that is precisely because it is a stream of consciousness, not a long-deliberated, cool-headed backward assessment. It feels young if not downright self-centered. Certainly this is not a poem written by an old man who may have figured out how to finally make love last or may be figuring out why none of his loves lasted.
I think that's why I liked it. It's captured that time in our lives when we think we deserve love. And expect forgiveness.
Then, I love how you describe it, that it all goes into the zenlike blankness of happiness. He feels the physical nearness of "you," (which I read to be his lover). And love takes over like a chemical.
11DebiCates
>8 Interstellar_Octopus: >9 elenchus: I do believe the physical nature of love is important to this poem, certainly the poem's end. Here he was trying to think about the nature of love and forgiveness and how he may be getting bored and irritated and all the things rambling around in his mind when he then either physically nears the "you" or thinks how close the you is, only a block away. And none of the reasoning thoughts matter any more, they disappear. I like how, though he may have meant it literally, how the breathing intensifies, it works metaphorically too: we do feel more alive when we are in love and when we are even just nearing that person or thinking of their physical being--the mere presence--of that person.
I remember that feeling. Love is not reasonable. Love is not about forgiveness. Love overpowers everything. Love is stupid.
And it is such a lovely feeling.
I remember that feeling. Love is not reasonable. Love is not about forgiveness. Love overpowers everything. Love is stupid.
And it is such a lovely feeling.
12doctorofphysick
>1 DebiCates: I love Frank! I had considered submitting “The Day Lady Died” for my slot last month. I have the same collection, and I enjoy opening it at random and finding my way back into his headspace.
O’Hara’s M.O., writing poems on his lunch breaks at the M.O.M.A. in New York, was likely part of Jarmusch’s inspiration for the Adam Driver character’s process. It’s such a lovely, quiet film. And it’s so rare for a Hollywood film to focus on poetry, not to mention exploring the process in such a nuanced and insightful way. I just might need to revisit it.
O’Hara’s M.O., writing poems on his lunch breaks at the M.O.M.A. in New York, was likely part of Jarmusch’s inspiration for the Adam Driver character’s process. It’s such a lovely, quiet film. And it’s so rare for a Hollywood film to focus on poetry, not to mention exploring the process in such a nuanced and insightful way. I just might need to revisit it.
13DebiCates
>12 doctorofphysick: It's exciting to hear from someone who loves O'Hara! I would very much like to read another poem of his, selected by you and to have you as a helping guide. That could be "official" if you'd like to sign up for another date on the Saturday roster. I would gladly give my date (04/04) to you if you are interested, otherwise the next date is all the way at the end of May. I have opportunities to select poems when someone doesn't show up as moderator just as this one was, so don't worry about bumping me.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/374036#
Or, here's another idea: start a new topic in The Poetry Collective. @TonjaE is doing something very interesting, as a "Journey" she's reading through a vintage edition of Longfellow's poetry and sharing a snippet a day, which has been enlightening, becoming more familiar with his work for those of us that follow along with her.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/377627
Nothing says you'd have to do a "Journey" in any specific way; you could just start a topic of your choice (include your name so it's easy for us to follow you) and post whatever you like, whenever you like. Me, I'd love to see and read more O'Hara with an accompanying perspective from you. And think of it, your O'Hara "dips" could be doubly enjoyed.
I like The Poetry Collective's reading a single poem together a week, selected by members, it's foundational for the group, but I think the group should be a place to accommodate more journeys by enthusiasts, most especially passionate ones.
Nick, I hope you'll think it over, and at the minimum sign up please for another date on the roster. My vote is for also the Journey idea. :)
P.S. I agree the very reason O'Hara was selected in the early scene of Paterson was because, like the fictional Paterson, O'Hara wrote during his lunch break and indeed the book that Paterson tucked beside him on the bus was Lunch Poems by O'Hara. That movie was the best thing I've seen in a decade, maybe two.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/374036#
Or, here's another idea: start a new topic in The Poetry Collective. @TonjaE is doing something very interesting, as a "Journey" she's reading through a vintage edition of Longfellow's poetry and sharing a snippet a day, which has been enlightening, becoming more familiar with his work for those of us that follow along with her.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/377627
Nothing says you'd have to do a "Journey" in any specific way; you could just start a topic of your choice (include your name so it's easy for us to follow you) and post whatever you like, whenever you like. Me, I'd love to see and read more O'Hara with an accompanying perspective from you. And think of it, your O'Hara "dips" could be doubly enjoyed.
I like The Poetry Collective's reading a single poem together a week, selected by members, it's foundational for the group, but I think the group should be a place to accommodate more journeys by enthusiasts, most especially passionate ones.
Nick, I hope you'll think it over, and at the minimum sign up please for another date on the roster. My vote is for also the Journey idea. :)
P.S. I agree the very reason O'Hara was selected in the early scene of Paterson was because, like the fictional Paterson, O'Hara wrote during his lunch break and indeed the book that Paterson tucked beside him on the bus was Lunch Poems by O'Hara. That movie was the best thing I've seen in a decade, maybe two.
14doctorofphysick
>13 DebiCates: This all sounds great to me. I'd be happy to select and talk about a Frank O'Hara poem for April 4th, and I like the idea of leading the group on a little journey. I'll do some brainstorming about that. A constellation of unrelated favorite poems would be fun and easy, but I'll think about themes too. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
I'm a longtime Jim Jarmusch fan, including his deadpan hipster exercises and genre forays, but Paterson stands out for its sincerity and heart. If I remember right, that was the same year the Emily Dickinson movie "A Quiet Passion" came out, an unusually rich year for movie poets. Cynthia Nixon did a great job embodying Dickinson, I'd recommend it if you haven't seen it.
I'm a longtime Jim Jarmusch fan, including his deadpan hipster exercises and genre forays, but Paterson stands out for its sincerity and heart. If I remember right, that was the same year the Emily Dickinson movie "A Quiet Passion" came out, an unusually rich year for movie poets. Cynthia Nixon did a great job embodying Dickinson, I'd recommend it if you haven't seen it.
15DebiCates
>14 doctorofphysick: I'm thrilled you are amenable to leading a group journey. Brainstorm away! I'm sure I'm going to enjoy whatever you design, Nick.
I haven't seen A Quiet Passion which is a shocker. I love Dickinson. (Who doesn't?)
I'll go now and put you on the roster for April 4th. :)
I haven't seen A Quiet Passion which is a shocker. I love Dickinson. (Who doesn't?)
I'll go now and put you on the roster for April 4th. :)
16elenchus
>14 doctorofphysick: Thank you for the Terence Davies rec! Looking it up on letterboxd, I stumbled across another film of his on the poet Siegfried Sassoon. Anyone here seen that one?
17saskia17
>16 elenchus: No, but thank you for telling us about it! Sassoon is one of my favorite poets. Have you seen Regeneration? It's based on Regeneration by Pat Barker, the first in a trilogy of novels about WWI. The first book features poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.
18elenchus
>17 saskia17: Regeneration is on my TBR pile, and while I have no date in mind I want to read the book before seeing the film. So much to read.
19AnishaInkspill
>1 DebiCates: I really like this and how it captures the speaker gathering themselves after the moment. Thanks for posting.
20SandraArdnas
I'll admit I like the discussion this spurred more than the poem ;) Like >5 elenchus: , I don't relate to the poet, who comes off more than a bit self-involved and self-centered. Others' thoughts helped view it from other angles, but they ares still just angles, not something that changed the essence of the poem for me, if that makes sense. It became fertile ground for thinking about all sorts of things, a thought experiment rather then the embodiment. I'm rambling, but so is he ;)
21PaulCranswick
Sorry I have been missing for a week or so but RL has been a tad tough with my father's funeral and Hani having COVID and work being work.
What strikes me most about the poem is the complete absence of grammar in it which manipulates the cadence of the writing - it makes you rush through it breathlessly. A sort of self-regarding stream of consciousness poem.
Interesting. O'Connor is not really a favourite of mine but stylistically this is very interesting.
What strikes me most about the poem is the complete absence of grammar in it which manipulates the cadence of the writing - it makes you rush through it breathlessly. A sort of self-regarding stream of consciousness poem.
Interesting. O'Connor is not really a favourite of mine but stylistically this is very interesting.
22TonjaE
>21 PaulCranswick: Sorry for your loss, it's good to hear from you Paul.
23DebiCates
>21 PaulCranswick: Oh Paul, very sorry to hear about the loss of your father. You have my deepest sympathies.
