Poem of the Week

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

***

I wonder if there's some significance to the fact that a lot of my favorite poems talk about food...

"This Is Just To Say" is a strong example of why poetry often needs to be read out loud, rather than just skimmed over in some textbook. The poem doesn't have NEARLY the same effect, unless the reader gives these words (and, more importantly, the spaces between the lines) the proper emphasis.