Sunday, July 3, 2011

"Poem"

Lana Turner has collapsed!
I was trotting along and suddenly
it started raining and snowing
and you said it was hailing
but hailing hits you on the head
hard so it was really snowing and
raining and I was in such a hurry
to meet you but the traffic
was acting exactly like the sky
and suddenly I see a headline
LANA TURNER HAS COLLAPSED!
there is no snow in Hollywood
there is no rain in California
I have been to lots of parties
and acted perfectly disgraceful
but I never actually collapsed
oh Lana Turner we love you get up

--Frank O'Hara


 "Francis Russell O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet and art critic. He was a member of the New York School of poetry."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_O'Hara

3 comments:

kkdither said...

You love'a da beatnik poetry! Not sure I get this one.... :)

OrbsCorbs said...

Yeah, I'm hooked on the Beats. I was born 15 years too late.

I'm not sure there's anything to "get" with this one other than whatever emotion/response it elicits in the reader. I like the last line because of the rushed turn of words. This "Poem" (he titled a lot of them "Poem") was written in 1962. It could be a swipe at the celebrity worship of the time, too.

Toad said...

WOW, I haven't heard Lana Turner's name In years. My Mom and Dad thought she was GREAT. I don't remember much about her, other than she was an ORIGINAL HOTTY on the big screen.