Mayakovsky by Frank O'Hara — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

Mayakovsky BY FRANK O’HARA 1 My heart’s aflutter! I am standing in the bath tub crying. Mother, mother who am I? If he will just come back once and kiss me on the face his coarse hair brush my temple, it’s throbbing! then I can put on my clothes I guess, and walk the streets. 2 I love you. I love you, but I’m turning to my verses and my heart is closing like a fist. Words! be sick as I am sick, swoon, roll back your eyes, a pool, and I’ll stare down at my wounded beauty which at best is only a talent for poetry. Cannot please, cannot charm or win what a poet! and the clear water is thick with bloody blows on its head. I embrace a cloud, but when I soared it rained. 3 That’s funny! there’s blood on my chest oh yes, I’ve been carrying bricks what a funny place to rupture! and now it is raining on the ailanthus as I step out onto the window ledge the tracks below me are smoky and glistening with a passion for running I leap into the leaves, green like the sea 4 Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting, and modern. The country is grey and brown and white in trees, snows and skies of laughter always diminishing, less funny not just darker, not just grey. It may be the coldest day of the year, what does he think of that? I mean, what do I? And if I do, perhaps I am myself again.

Translation (English)

My heart is fluttering! I am standing in the bathtub crying. Mom, mom who am I? If he would just come back once and kiss me on the face his rough hair brushing my temple, it's pounding! then I can get dressed I guess, and walk outside. I love you. I love you, but I'm turning to my poems and my heart is closing like a fist. Words! be as sick as I am, faint, roll back your eyes, a pool, and I'll look down at my wounded beauty which is only a knack for poetry. Cannot please, cannot charm or win what a poet! and the clear water is thick with bloody hits on its head. I hug a cloud, but when I flew it rained. That's funny! there's blood on my chest oh yes, I've been carrying bricks what a strange place to break! and now it is raining on the tree as I step out onto the window ledge the tracks below me are smoky and shining with a desire to run I jump into the leaves, green like the sea Now I am quietly waiting for the disaster of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting, and modern. The country is grey and brown and white in trees, snows and skies of laughter always getting less, less funny not just darker, not just grey. It may be the coldest day of the year, what does he think of that? I mean, what do I? And if I do, maybe I am myself again.

About the Poet

Frank O'Hara (20th Century)

Frank O'Hara (1926–1966) was an American poet and art critic, prominent in New York City's art world. A leading figure in the New York School, his poetry is known for its personal tone and immediacy, often capturing the vibrancy of urban life.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Free verse
When Written: 1957
Background: The poem is part of O'Hara's collection 'Meditations in an Emergency' and reflects his personal and emotional experiences, possibly inspired by the Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. It explores themes of identity, love, and the struggle of the poetic self.

Sources: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53219/mayakovsky, https://allpoetry.com/poem/14373599-Mayakovsky-by-Frank-OHara, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_O%27Hara

Detailed Explanation

Frank O'Hara's poem 'Mayakovsky' is a deeply personal and introspective piece that reflects the poet's emotional turmoil and search for identity. The poem is structured in four parts, each exploring different facets of the poet's inner life. In the first section, the speaker experiences a crisis of identity, longing for the return of a loved one to provide comfort and clarity. The second section reveals a tension between love and the poet's dedication to his craft, as his heart closes off to emotions while he turns to writing. The third section introduces a surreal and humorous imagery of physical rupture, symbolizing the poet's internal conflict and the burdens he carries. The final section reflects a quiet resignation and hope for self-acceptance, as the poet waits for his personality to be seen as beautiful and modern once more. Throughout the poem, O'Hara employs vivid imagery, metaphor, and a conversational tone to convey the complexity of human emotions and the struggle to reconcile one's inner and outer worlds.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
aflutter	excited, agitated	feeling nervous or excited	af-lut-ter
throbbing	pulsing, beating	pounding strongly	throb-bing
swoon	faint, collapse	to lose consciousness	swoon
wounded	injured, hurt	hurt	wound-ed
catastrophe	disaster, calamity	a big disaster	ca-tas-tro-phe
ailanthus	a type of tree	a tree called the tree of heaven	ai-lan-thus
glistening	shining, sparkling	shining brightly	glis-ten-ing
personality	character, identity	what makes someone unique	per-son-al-i-ty
modern	contemporary, current	related to now	mod-ern