A couple of summers ago, to gain a few more credit hours (teachers have to do that), I took a class for reading and writing poetry. We learned about using various writing prompts to lead to poetry writing. One of my favorites was starting with someone else’s poem and then “answering” it.
So for a change of pace, I offer you my answer to William Carlos Williams. First, the original:
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
And now mine:
Answering Williams
“This is just to say”
I was indeed
saving the plums
in the icebox
for breakfast.
If the thought even
occurred to you
that they were mine
(and obviously it did)
Why did
you
eat
them?
Forgive you?
I
think
not.
Next time, my contribution to the Village Blacksmith. 🙂
–Author S
I have to say that it bugs me that I still cannot get the line breaks to show up properly here. They do actually match with the original.