This is Just to Say

Selected by Amy Frykholm

William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)

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 (1883–1963) was an American poet perhaps most famous for his advice to poets, “No ideas but in things.” In addition to his literary career, he was a family doctor and pediatrician. He won the National Book Award and many other awards for his poetry. This poem is from Selected Poems, edited by Charles Tomlinson (New Directions, 1985), 74.

Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net

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