Out of all the Lunch Poems, I was particular fond of O’Hara’s Having A Coke With you. This poem romanticizes the moment of sharing a drink with a lover and how this moment feels like a lifetime. While reading it, I felt that the speaker was in a daze and that he was entranced by the woman. Thus, the first song I could think of that gave me a back in the day love story feel was, Can’t help falling in Love by Elvis Presley.
This song is a classic, yet it captures the slowing down of time when two lovers are together. It’s a sweet serenade, which intertwines perfectly with how the speaker of the poem is admiring his significant other and how excited he is to endeavor new experiences with her.
As for the NYC aspect, the speaker mentions multiple places, and scenery as to complete the perfect environment. His full heart, his lover, and his beautiful surroundings emphasize the magic of New York City. A song that echoes this theme would be “Fly to New York” by Above and Beyond.
This song is about a boy with divorced parents, who flies by himself to NYC to see his mother. His father then realizes his son is missing and goes to find him. The mother is also on edge of starting her life with another man but chooses to decline. When the son and father reunite, the mother finds them in the city, and you can feel the bursting of energy between the couple. Even though the storyline is completely different from the poem, the role of NYC in romance is evident in both. The city is showcased as a place with much hope and chance for love, despite the past and present uncertainties.
This is a google earth image of the street view of the Frick Museum that the speaker mentions in hope to take his lover to visit.
As shown by these images, it is a beautiful building and a perfect place for couples to go to. The plants and colors of the building highlight the elegance and romantic nature of the museum, which is why the speaker most likely wants to take his woman there.
O”Hara paints NYC as a dream like setting where hopes and dreams do come true in the most famous city of the world. Those who live in NYC know that’s not necessarily the case and that there are a lot of downsides with living in the city such as the smell, crowds, disrespectful people, and the ridiculous prices. However, because the speaker is in love, all these negative aspects fade away in the background and only feelings of bliss and euphoria resonate in the speaker’s heart.
I like your commentary and choice of song (I’ve listened to so many covers of “Can’t Help Falling in Love”) in capturing the romantic feeling of Frank O’Hara’s “Having a Coke with You,” but I wanted to point out that if you are going to talk about the poem, rather than your reflection on it, (” I felt that the speaker was in a daze and that he was entranced by the woman”) it can be helpful to know the context of the poet’s writing. Frank O’Hara was likely not entranced by or in love with a woman, given that he was gay.