Friday, April 4, 2008

This Is Just To Say....

About 6 years ago, Todd was riding the subway to work and saw this poem on the wall. He wrote it down, and brought it home to me. I loved it and this led to checking out other poems by William Carlos Williams through trips to the North Plainfield library. It was just a few weeks after our "discovery" of this poem and its author that we listened to A Prairie Home Companion on WNYC one Saturday evening. (Check out our nightlife!) It turned out to be my most favorite show ever because my favorite poet Billy Collins was the guest star! He read quite a few poems in his wonderful understated way and then he performed that night's episode of Guy Noir, Private Eye. The entire episode took this poem by William Carlos Williams and turned it on it's ear. If you have a few minutes, you should listen. It's very funny.


This Is Just To Say


I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

-- William Carlos Williams

2 comments:

Jessica said...

I love this poet too. You know what is so funny about this poem is that I have heard several people say that it is supposed to be symbolic of the taking of virginity, but I read an interview with the author who said that no, it was simply a note he had written to his wife and put on the fridge after eating some plums he thought she might of been saving.

Emilia said...

Sometimes a plum is just a plum, eh? ;)