A poem

[yesthattom]

Since it is national poetry month, I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite poems. It's by William Carlos Williams.

William Carlos Williams is a great American poet from Rutherford, New Jersey (near the present-day Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford). He was quite an inspiration to the great gay poet, philosopher and radical Allen Ginsberg, also a native of New Jersey. Who would have thought that the great NY "beat" poets were inspired by a surgeon from New Jersey.

This Is Just To Say
by William Carlos Williams

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

Comments

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

That is one of my favorites, too. It was fun to find out that his poems are laid out the way they are because he tended to write them on prescription pads (or so said my poetry professor).

[likethewatch.livejournal.com]

I know this poem from the Poetry in Motion PSAs on the subways in NYC. I like it, too... it always makes me think of the 1940s-era GE refrigerator at my grandmother's house when I was a kid, and the tartness of plum skin against the tooth. Lovely, cool things to think about when I'm pressed hip-to-crotch against the rest of the 9-to-5ers.

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

*nodnodnod* I was introduced to Gwendolyn Brooks that way (on the San Diego trolley).

Forgive me

[cloacabutt.livejournal.com]

I love that poem too, and I wrote a takeoff on it years ago. No, it is not about cannibalism. It's kind of a love poem, actually.

Forgive Me
(apologies to William Carlos Williams)

I have eaten
the balls
that were in
your scrotum
and which
you were probably
saving

Forgive me
they were delicious
so salty
and so warm

And now something silly

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Wow, about 7 years ago when the web was somewhat new there was the Mr T Ate My Balls and Chewbacca Ate My Balls pages which lead to hundreds of imitators. Do a search for "ate my balls" and you'll find so many of them. http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Humor/Tasteless/Ate_My_Balls/ is sort of a definitive list.

something I wrote two years ago

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the MacOS 9 CD
that was somewhere
in the hackroom

and which
you were probably
saving
to reinstall

forgive me
it was delicious
so crunchy
and so metallic

Re: something I wrote two years ago

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

It gets me so hot when you speak geek :-)