How similar then, does O’Hara’s poem seem? Written on his lunch break, a short moment that has such long lasting impact. That breathlessness, the exhaustive flow of text that doesn’t allow the reader to pause and reflect on any point.
The words are thrown together with the frequent use of the word "and," making the speaker look busy, rushed and exhausted.
The only line that could give us a moment to pause is after ‘these days’ but the indentation on the new line draws the reader right back into the motion.
The poem is filled with constant hurdles of words and names, following O’Hara’s errands throughout the day before he heads to East Hampton.
The capital letters could almost be seen as obstacles that the reader has to climb over and
…show more content…
All of this ties in to how strongly her life was represented through the media and how the details are so misconstrued and lost, through no help from herself.
In an article by Dave Dexter Junior in 1939 Billie spoke about how she had been starving before getting her first job as a singer. After her first night of singing she bought a whole chicken and said “Mother and I ate that night – and we’ve been eating pretty well since”. Her story is consistent in its misery and the struggle she went through as a child and was one of the most consistent comments in articles about her in the 1950’s and through her career.
Look now at O’Hara’s poem… as he’s planning out his day, it’s clear he has many friends and acquaintances as he plans his night saying “I don’t know the people that will feed me”. A stark reflection against Billie Holidays’ experience of not knowing when she would eat