What "Having a Coke with You" means to me

Having a Coke with You        

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne
or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona
partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian
partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt
partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches
partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary
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 right in front of it
in the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forth
between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint
you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them

I look
at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world
except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frick
which thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first time
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
or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully
as the horse

it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience
which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

 The opening lines to Frank O’Hara’s poem address, “Having a coke with you is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona”. This displays a celebration of how the simple things in life are the most beautiful. One could travel the world tasting of different cultures without realizing the true beauty of the world until they walk down the street they grew up on. Though discovering the world’s landmarks and their beauty is spectacular, this poem reminds its readers that the moments in which they simply smile at a passing face, watch the sunrise, or hear their unborn child’s heartbeat is breathtaking.

The reader, of this poem, is expressing how the addressee captivates them and is compassionate for everything they do. In the lines, “Partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yogurt”, Frank O’Hare illustrates that love does not have to be big and overly romantic; however, it can instead be about the little things that make one smile. The ways people find joy and true happiness do not have to be vast and elaborate. It is usually the small, over looked things such as, the scent your lover wore on the first date or the warmth of their skin on a cold winter night, that people love and remember for years to come.

After explaining that the couple is visiting Spain, O’Hara writes, “Partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people”. The sidelong glances at a loved one and the feeling that a whole conversation has taken place without even speaking is more heart-stirring than visiting the magnificent landmarks. It is only the presence of others who notice the secret glances lover’s exchange because to those in love it is a simple, unnoticed act. O’Hara then goes on to announce, “And the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint… I look at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world”. When two individuals share an enchanting love for each other nothing else compares, not even the Mona Lisa. They crave for each other and wish upon the stars that they could dedicate everyday to embracing and soaking in every detail of each other.

O’Hara could have easily said, “I am enchanted by the way you move”, but instead says, “And the fact you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism, just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase”. The addressee, in the writer’s eyes, moves more gracefully and is more attractive than a painting or sculpture that seems to move. The writer starts to wonder why anyone ever bothered to paint, “…a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo” because the paintings “that used to wow me” do not compare to the alluring and enticing features of his lover.

The poem comes to an end with Frank O’Hara’s sweet words, “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. It seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it”. Individuals have certain empowering moments of beauty in their life, such as, having a coke with a loved one; however, if one travels the world hopelessly searching for it they will never taste of true, everlasting happiness. Frank O’Hara’s ability to illustrate these emotions in such a way the reader can relate, wither they are thinking of a lover, a friend, or a food they ate, is a piece of true beauty overlooked.