Here I am, shopping for books over the Internet on Christmas Eve. This morning I suddenly realized that two of the books I look for every time I go into a used book store could probably be found very easily online, and I was right. So I ordered them. Of course, that takes some of the the fun out of browsing at used book stores for a while. Time for two poems, the first by William Carlos Williams.
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
Isn't that nice? Now this one's by Kenneth Koch.
Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
1
I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do and its wooden
beams were so inviting.
2
We laughed at the hollyhocks together
and then I sprayed them with lye.
Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.
3
I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the next ten years.
The man who asked for it was shabby
and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.
4
Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
Forgive me. I was clumsy, and
I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor.