This is just to say

Full disclosure -- there is no real knitting in this post. Only some fake knitting in one of the parodies. One of the very bad parodies, penned by myself. Forgive me.

Many of you would probably recognize the poem "This is Just to Say", by William Carlos Williams, from high school English. The one where the guy eats the plums from the ice-box that his wife was probably saving for breakfast, and fails to apologize, but peremptorily says, "forgive me". I hadn't thought about this poem much at all, in high school or since, until it was read and parodied on a recent episode of This American Life. TAL is one of my favorite shows, BTW, and I highly recommend it.

Go ahead and click on the first link above to read the poem. It will take you all of about 10 seconds to read it. We'll wait.

Back already? OK.

Ira Glass, the host of This American Life, says that this is probably one of the most parodied pieces of poetry ever. He also takes the poet to task for never apologizing for eating the plums, for BS-ing us with "you were probably saving them" (oh, he knew, he knew) and for peremptorily commanding her to "forgive me". Ha! I can see that Ira would not forgive, not with this sort of flimsy excuse for a note.

Ira suggests that an internet search for "this is just to say parody" will bring up many, many examples of parodies of this poem, and he was right, of course. Here are a few of my favorites.

Ahem. So I have taken the liberty of writing a few parodies of my own. Please feel free to add your own in the comments. It's not hard, and it's fun, in a sick kind of way.


This is just to say

I burned the scarf
you gave me
for my birthday
last year

and which you probably
thought I would love
when you spun the yarn
and knit each stitch

Forgive me
it was hideous
so scratchy
and so orange


This is just to say

I have run away
with my
personal trainer
from the gym

the gym you bought me
the gift membership for
including
the personal training

and you were
probably hoping
I’d become
more fit

Forgive me
his six-pack abs
are so perfect
and his pecs so hard


C'mon, give it a go. Release your inner poet!