I love you. I love you, but I’m turning to my verses and my heart is closing like a fist.
Frank O'HaraRead
My eyes are vague blue, like the sky, and change all the time; they are indiscriminate but fleeting, entirely specific and disloyal, so that no one trusts me. I am always looking away. Or again at something after it has given me up.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the complexity of perception and the transient nature of attention.
Frank O'Hara's quote speaks to the ephemeral quality of both vision and trust. The speaker's eyes, described as 'vague blue like the sky,' symbolize an ever-changing perspective that can evoke uncertainty and elusiveness. This suggests a deeper commentary on how our perception of the world and others is fluid and often not fixed, leading to feelings of distrust and the inevitability of moving on from moments and feelings that were once engaging.
Themes
EyesPerceptionTrustChangeTransienceLooking Away
In practice
Example use cases
A writer might use this quote in a literary analysis of O'Hara's work during a poetry reading.
More from Frank O'Hara
All quotes →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.'
Frank O'HaraRead
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!
Frank O'HaraRead
My heart is in my/ pocket. It is poems by Pierre Reverdy.
Frank O'HaraRead
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.
Frank O'HaraRead
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'HaraRead
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