Poetry Writing Workshop for a Snowy Day

It's pretty, as long as you don't
have to go out in it.
Photo from 2011.

How to write an “imagist” poem, after William Carlos Williams, and after a snowstorm that you shouldn’t have been driving in.

The original –

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

The Common Household Line-by-line tutorial

First stanza

1. “I have” + verb which connotes consumption, such as “eaten”, “used up”, “smashed”, “drove”

2.  Insert the delectable foodstuff or other item which you ate/used but which everyone else wanted to consume

3.  “That were/was in”

4. Location of said delectable

Second stanza

5, 6, 7. “And which”

             “You were probably”

             “saving”

8. “for “ insert use for which delectable had been intended

Final stanza

9.  Blithely ask for forgiveness

10. State how much you enjoyed said item that you deprived everyone else of

11. “So “ + adjective describing the delectable item

12. “And so” + a different adjective describing the delectable item

Final steps

Finally, think of a nonchalant or understated sort of title for your poem.

Do not include any punctuation.  I would say punctuation is so twentieth-century pre-texting era, but Wm. C. Wms wrote his poem in the 20th Century so there

Here is my poem, after enduring a 1 ½ hour drive home (2 hours if you count that I had to detour to a local mall because the road was closed, and I got a sub-par lunch there) from church choir rehearsal in a snowstorm, a drive which usually takes 15 minutes. 

Cutting the Cheese

by Common Household Mom

I have eaten

the New Zealand sharp cheddar cheese

that was in

the tupperware on the second shelf of the fridge

and which

you were probably

saving

for your high-protein low-carb breakfast

Forgive me

it was delectable

so buttery

and so stress-reducing after the most harrowing drive home on the suburban streets woefully unprepared for the snow (as was I)

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Here are two versions written by Older Daughter, way back in 2005, when she was a teenager.

Variations on the Theme

Yesterday, I broke the piano that you had been saving to teach with.

I’m sorry, but I was practicing karate.

I’d regret it, but it was the perfect target.

I’m sorry, but I burned the school yesterday.

I didn’t know that you were using it.

And besides, I’m a firefighter, and there was nothing else to do.

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But I think Older Daughter was actually riffing on this:

Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams

Kenneth Koch

I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.

I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do

and its wooden beams were so inviting.

 

We laughed at the hollyhocks together

and then I sprayed them with lye.

Forgive me.  I simply do not know what I am doing.

 

I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the next ten years.

The man who asked for it was shabby

and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.

 

Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.

Forgive me.  I was clumsy, and

I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!

 

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Also, I had a big mug of hot chocolate, with dark chocolate.

I feel a bit better now.  Yes, yes, I am indeed grateful that I didn’t get in a wreck or sustain any injury.  (My feet were wet and cold, though.)  My rage is contained, and I am home and back to using punctuation.

Einstein was also perturbed by snow (2019).