Spoofing: This Is Just To Say

Some weeks ago, I listened to (repeatedly) an episode of This American Life entitled, "Mistakes Were Made". The final act stuck with me the most, and recently resurfaced in me when I was forced to think about poetry, and to try to write like a poet.

"Act Two. You’re Willing to Sacrifice Our Love.

There’s a famous William Carlos Williams poem called “This is Just to Say". It’s about, among other things, causing a loved one inconvenience and offering a non-apologizing apology. It’s only three lines long, you’ve probably read it...the one about eating the plums in the icebox. Marketplace reporter (and published poet) Sean Cole explains that this is possibly the most spoofed poem around. We asked some of our regular contributors to get into the act. Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, Starlee Kine, Jonathan Goldstein, Shalom Auslander and Heather O’Neill, all came upwith their own variations of Williams’s classic lines. (6 minutes)"

First, I present the original poem:

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.

-- William Carlos Williams


And my spoof:

I ate the whole
burrito.

You most likely heard
me slurp
the cheese.

Drunk tosses
of foil,
and rice,
and beans.

If I woke you up,
and you're angry,
don't fret...

I barely tasted it,
and I'll pay for it
today.

You can hear the original podcast here.