Dear Reader,
This morning, the gorgeous poem, “This is Just to Say,” was brought to my attention once again. I quote parts of it often, but I just realized today that I have been misattributing it. My poem, below, a first draft, is the result of this.
Thing is (pun intended), knowing WCW’s stance on poetry, I should’ve recognized it immediately, not to mention it has his style stamped on it, too.
I’m still looking for that Kevin Prufer poem that has peppers in it (see below).. Unless that, too, belongs to someone else? Sigh. I should’ve gotten into poetry so much earlier.
And obviously I am embarrassed by my mis-remembering. Eh, it happens.
Word Raccoon is giggling as she implores me to go order a drink, if the crowd has thinned enough. It’s nippy out here.
This is Just to Say: An Apology
This is just to say,
to William Carlos Williams,
That I am sorry.
Once, years ago now,
your delicious poem,
“This is Just to Say”
was delivered to me
in a packet of poems.
In my mind, yours
was penned by someone named Kevin
whose surname I have just learned
is not Prufrock.
I hope, if you read that,
you would laugh.
I do not
understand
just why your plums
haunt us all,
but there they are,
ready for longing teeth
and tongue,
and
I wonder,
what if instead they had been in the
produce drawer?
Would we have tasted them
at all?
dremadrudge.com 