Something about this poem stuck with me. After reading some of the other Lunch Poems, this was the one that I could not forget about. As I went about my day, stepping on and off the subway, walking to places, I thought about how O’Hara describes his day in a way that is somewhat similar to how I sometimes self-narrate my days to myself. I liked the numbers he used, the time, the date, it’s all very precise, as if he were keeping track of his day on a chart. I like that. But somewhere in between the meticulous bits of the poem, there are very human moments ["...I will get off the 4:19 in Easthamptonat 7:15 and then go straight to dinnerand I don't know the people who will feed me"]. Those lines make me love this poem, and want more, yet if the piece were longer I don’t know if I’d like it as much. It’s hard to say.After researching, I found out that ‘Lady’ is Billie Holiday. This name, ‘Lady Day’ was given to her by Lester Young, a Jazz musician.
Tags: Frank O'Hara, Lunch Poems, reading response, The Day Lady Died
