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I can't even enjoy a blade of grass unless I know there's a subway handy, or a record store or some other sign that people do not totally regret life. It's more important to confirm the least sincere. The clouds get enough attention as it is.
Frank O'Hara
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote expresses a desire for tangible signs of life's enjoyment amidst the mundanity of everyday life.

In this quote, Frank O'Hara reflects on the interconnection of urban life and the appreciation of simple pleasures. He suggests that the enjoyment of something as ordinary as a blade of grass is amplified by the presence of human activities and cultural markers, like a subway or a record store, which affirm that people are engaging with life in meaningful ways. The emphasis on 'the least sincere' underlines a need for genuine experiences in a world often filled with superficiality.

Themes

LifeEnjoymentUrbanCultureSincerity

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of appreciating the little things in life.

More from Frank O'Hara

I love you. I love you, but I’m turning to my verses and my heart is closing like a fist.
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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 knife you just run, you don't turn around and shout, 'Give it up! I was a track star for Mineola Prep.'
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I wouldn’t want to be faster or greener than now if you were with me O you were the best of all my days!
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My heart is in my/ pocket. It is poems by Pierre Reverdy.
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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 you. ... As for measure and other technical apparatus, that's just common sense: if you're going to buy a pair of pants you want them to be tight enough so everyone will want to go to bed with you. There's nothing metaphysical about it.
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After the first glass of vodka you can accept just about anything of life even your own mysteriousness you think it is nice that a box of matches is purple and brown and is called La Petite and comes from Sweden for they are words that you know and that is all you know words not their feelings or what they mean and you write because you know them not because you understand them because you don't you are stupid and lazy and will never be great but you do what you know because what else is there?
Frank O'HaraRead

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