Having a coke with you

by Frank O'Hara

An extract from “Having a coke with you” by Frank O’Hara:

…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…

You hear the full poem read by Frank O’Hara here:

“It’s a poem about sight and seeing, light and colour, referencing many great artworks but most of all it’s about looking at the person you love.”

Dean Atta, National Poetry Day Ambassador on why he chose O’Hara’s poem for the 2020 theme of Vision.