Number Nineteen of Frank O’Hara’s Lost Lunch Poems from 1961
This is just to say
sitting on a bench alone in
your lunch hour is not a problem
necessarily speaking.
Think of it like writing a novel
in a public place or riding your bicycle
through the thoroughfare past bus stops
or even through the train terminal.
I dare say a soul rarely notices
such behavior and if they do
it is of little concern to the rest of
the universe as it continues to swirl.
Take a guess at the hour you will
end up with me at the corner
dive with a smirk on your face
since the martinis they serve there are cold.
Then we will both laugh at the
simplicity of enjoying a drink with good friends
while the wind blows itself out
like tiny candle flames all over the city.
The sun then pulls his space
over his yawning head and the earth
quiets himself to lie down on the grass
and the sky is ready for bed.
Ah, you and I will continue to drink our
debauchery with the fervor of young teens
and relive our youth like all the poets
and artists and lovers before would want us to.
This is just to say
sitting on a bench alone in
your lunch hour is not a problem
necessarily speaking,
I like my peace and quiet as well.
I really enjoyed this Seth! I didn’t know you had such a passion for writing.