Plums
I listened to a recording of William Carlos Williams reading his poem To A Poor Old Woman. I had first heard the poem read by John Lithgow. It was lovely. When I heard William Carlos Williams read it with what I thought was a thick New Jersey accent, I was a little surprised by it. It lost some of the quality of sound that I’d heard with Lithgow. It was a bit of a dichotomy that prompted the following:
PLUMS
What is it about a plum that’s so poetic?
Why does a bowl of plums on the table
or in the icebox sound so perfect?
Is it their deep, dark skin
wrapped around a flesh the color
of a lover’s cheeks rouged with passion?
Is it that they’re sweet and juicy
causing you to lurch when biting one
to prevent the sticky nectar from dribbling
down your chin spotting your blue blouse?
Is it that this particular combination of letters
rolls off the tongue in such a way
as to remind you of a musical phrase
that caught your ear in Dona Nobis Pacem?
William Carlos Williams was seduced
by something in the word ‘plum’.
What was it he saw?
I like this one! Fruits would make a great poem prompt. You should post one!
Lovely Lace
December 30, 2009 at 6:28 PM
Thanks. Post one? Where?
smcallister
December 30, 2009 at 6:41 PM
post one in your next post. Urge your readers to write a poem about their favorite fruit. If you don’t want to, I can steal the idea from you! Or me…
Lovely Lace
December 30, 2009 at 7:21 PM
It’s actually your idea, so I’ll pass it to you to use. Perhaps I’ll add something to your challenge.
smcallister
December 30, 2009 at 7:49 PM
[...] got the idea from this post by [...]
Peach, Plum, Pear: Poetry Prompt « Lovely Lace
December 30, 2009 at 9:46 PM