Variations On A Theme By William Carlos Williams
1
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.
2
We laughed at the hollyhocks together
and then I sprayed them with lye.
Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.
3
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.
4
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!
poem by Kenneth Koch
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Related quotes
Epitaph on an Unread Verse after William Carlos Williams' Red Wheelbarrow
This is just to play on plum phrases
hibernating in your brainbox,
which your neurones were probably waiting for
to break free fast.
Forgive me their taste is delicious,
so neat and so bold.
An agèd poet with hollow laughter
swiftly sprayed her incisive syllables
in consonant activity and, yearning,
paid [s]lip service:
so much depends
upon lifelong learning's expectations,
an unread verse [s]pokes for comments,
reigns above lily-livered chicken-hearted critics
before a blank screen.
so much more depends
upon monochromatic ash clouds
glazed with silicates
beside Icelandic
eruptions.
Life is verse role-reversing uninclined ignorance
shadowing dis...inclined ink lined page.
(Revised 3 October 2009 and19 Aptil 2010)
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
Variation on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
1 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.
2 We laughed at the hollyhocks together and then I sprayed them with lye. Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.
3 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.
4 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!
Kenneth Koch 1925_20
Epitaph on an Unre[a]d Verse after William Carlos Williams
An aged poet with hollow laughter swiftly sprayed her incisive syllables in consonant activity and, yearning, paid [s]lip service:
so much depends
upon lifelong learning's expectations,
an unread verse [s]pokes for comments,
reigns above white chicken-hearted critics
on a blank screen.
Life is verse role-reversing uninclined ignorance
shadowing an inclined ink lined page.
(Parody William Carlos Williams Epitaph AND The Red Wheelbarrow written 14 September 2008)
Epitaph
An old willow with hollow branches
slowly swayed his few high bright tendrils
and sang:
Love is a young green willow
shimmering at the bare wood's edge.
William Carlos Williams 1883_1963
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends
upon
a red
wheelbarrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
William Carlos Williams 1883_1963
The Yellow Goldfish
so much depends
upon
a yellow gold
fish
washed down with bowl
water
inside the white
kitten
William Carlos Williams' Cat Henry BEARD Parody William Carlos Williams The Red Wheelbarrow
The T.V. Guide
So much more depends
upon
a universal remote
control
sitting on a coffee
table
beside the TV
Guide
Chris CLOKE - Parody William Carlos Williams The Red Wheelbarrow
An Apology
Forgive me
for backing over
and smashing
your red wheelbarrow.
It was raining
and the rear wiper
does not work on
my new plum-colored SUV.
I am also sorry
about the white
chickens.
Frances Jean BERGMANN
Parody William Carlos Williams The Red Wheelbarrow
The Red Cadillac
Willie 'Slick' Williams reads William Carlos Williams, then writes a letter to the producers of the TV makeover show 'Pimp My Ride', explaining why his car should be featured on the program.'
so much depends
upon
a red cadillac
slick
with turtle
wax
beside the white
chicks
Reginald O'Hare GIBSON 19_20
Parody William Carlos Williams The Red Wheelbarrow
Stuffing WCW
so much depends
upon
sodium erythorbate
and sugar
mixed with salt
water
inside the processed
chickens.
Parody Unknown Author William Carlos Williams The Red Wheelbarrow
poem by Jonathan Robin
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I broke the bread with You today
I broke the bread with You today
and was at a loss at what to say.
For You had born all of my disgrace
when You hung on the cross in my place.
I drank the wine with You today
and was at a loss at what to say.
For Your blood had been poured out for me
when You gave your life at Calvary.
For You poured out Your life in death
Saving my soul with Your final breath
Cried out aloud 'Father Forgive'
And gave your life that I might live.
The Other Man
(ian hunter)
I forgive you when you cant look straight into my eye
I forgive you when you never want to hold my hand
I forgive you cause youre all Ive got and I love you
But Ill never forgive the other man
I forgive you even though I know the secret you keep
I forgive you even though you dont give a damn
I forgive you cause deep inside youre part of me
But Ill never forgive the other man
Somewhere in the night hes calling
And somewhere in your heart youre falling
Ill forgive you when you stay out late and you never phone
Ill forgive you even though Ill never understand
Ill forgive you cause youre all Ive got and I love you
But Ill never forgive the other man
Somewhere in the night hes calling
And somewhere in your heart youre falling
Ill forgive you when you stay out late and you never phone
Ill forgive you even though Ill never understand
Ill forgive you cause youre all Ive got and I love you
But Ill never forgive the other man
No, Ill never forgive as long as I live
No, Ill never forgive the other man
I said Ill never never never forgive
No, Ill never forgive the other man
song performed by by Ian Hunter
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Forgive Me God
God forgive me for wanting his wife
And the possessions that he has and own
Forgive me please for wanting his life
As I have nothing and I feel so alone.
I live my life through my dreams and lies
I have nothing and I want another mans prize.
God forgive me for wanting to be like him
I am a man and I have nothing at all
Once though I had something but now my life is grim
And a job long ago that I can still barely recall.
But for him and his life their is jealousy
As I leave nothing behind, but he’ll leave a legacy.
God forgive me for the life that I live
And forgive me for wanting to be someone else
Though for greatness I have no motive
And in life I seek no riches or wealth.
All I want is to live off the dreams of others
I want to be nourished and cared for as by my mother.
God forgive me for something that I am not
And please forgive me for something that I will never be
As other men’s dreams and wishes I had sought
But for me I know it will never become my reality.
So I pretend and pretend as I put on my act
What other men own and have I certainly do lack
God forgive me for wearing the clothes of another man
Please forgive me as you listen to my prayer
As I am not happy with the way that I am
Because when I am around no one sees me there.
But then for me one day my judgement will await
And then God; will I walk or crawl to my final fate.
poem by Randy McClave
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All Things Are Simply Possible, Just By God's Saving Grace!
I aimed to accomplish one thing,
But turned to be yet another;
I thought I was unfit in life,
But God brought me out of all strife.
All things are simply possible,
Just by God's saving grace!
I travelled by a road I chose;
It led me to an alien place;
I thought I had a blunder done;
God gave me timely rain and sun!
All things are simply possible,
Just by God's saving grace!
I felt awful and depressed oft,
And life had turned quite meaningless;
To God, I cried in despair, ‘Lord! '
My strength returned reading His Word!
All things are simply possible,
Just by God's saving grace!
I saw the modern world of man,
Afilled by sin and wickedness;
I felt like asking God, ‘But why? '
Hope filled my heart anew from sky!
All things are simply possible,
Just by God's saving grace!
I found all earthly life futile,
And wished from heart to earlier die!
But God renewed my spirits high,
And made my earthly stay worthwhile!
All things are simply possible,
But by God's saving grace!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 17=11-2012
poem by John Celes
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Sonnet: Forgive Them God, Lord
Forgive them God, they know not what they do;
Forgive them Lord, they know not what they say;
Forgive them God, they are my siblings too;
Forgive them Lord, they seem just bad today!
Forgive them God, they were all born with me;
Forgive them Lord, they suffered really;
Forgive them God; they were so good truly;
Forgive them Lord, they have done their duty!
Forgive them God, the tempter has them prey;
Forgive them Lord, they were so sad most days;
Federal been God and send your guardian fay;
Forgive them Lord, they have innocent face!
Forgive them God; I’ll pray for them instead;
Forgive them Lord; better You strike me dead!
28-5-2001 Perundurai, ERODE. T.N. INDIA
poem by John Celes
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We were saving, saving, saving then going to France and blowing the money eating. She was a nurse and had never experienced fine dining but she loved it, too. Our mates thought it absurd.
quote by Heston Blumenthal
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Live And Let Live
You been holding back
And I know you're afraid to feel
Some one hurt you long ago
And the wounds just did not heal
You never shed a tear
You had to keep control
So the wounds kept spreading
Until they got down in your soul
Don't you think it's time
Time to forgive
Leave the past behind
Live and let live
Been holding onto anger
Now it's got a hold on you
And bitterness keeps growing
Affecting everything you do
Time to break the chains
You could slip them off today
It's time to make some changes
Before your whole life slips away
Don't you think it's time
Time to forgive
Leave the past behind
Live and let live
Don't you think it's time
Time to forgive
Leave the past behind
Live and let live
Don't you think it's time
Time to forgive
Leave the past behind
Live and let live
song performed by by Jefferson Starship
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I forgive you
I forgive you
You are not intelligent enough
To recognise
Your attitude has been quite rough
I forgive you
You are not intelligent enough
To understand
What it really means to be tough
I believe in forgive and forget
Instead of negative actions
Born our of impulsive reactions
That we both may regret
There will simply be no winners
There will simply be no losers
I forgive you!
For the sake of peace
I forgive you!
Copyright 2006 - Sylvia Chidi
poem by Sylvia Chidi
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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
poem by William Carlos Williams (1934)
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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Live & Let Live
You been holding back
And I know youre afraid to feel
Some one hurt you long ago
And the wounds just did not heal
You never shed a tear
You had to keep control
So the wounds kept spreading
Until they got down in your soul
Dont you think its time
Time to forgive
Leave the past behind
Live and let live
Been holding onto anger
Now its got a hold on you
And bitterness keeps growing
Affecting everything you do
Time to break the chains
You could slip them off today
Its time to make some changes
Before your whole life slips away
Dont you think its time
Time to forgive
Leave the past behind
Live and let live
Dont you think its time
Time to forgive
Leave the past behind
Live and let live
Dont you think its time
Time to forgive
Leave the past behind
Live and let live
song performed by by Jefferson Starship
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Fears of A Mad Man In The Office
forgive me
i am an unthinking human being
i am exhausted
and feeling like a wall of a house
the roof makes no sense to me
or the stairs
which she finds
to be filled with meaning
i am not that road
i go nowhere
and i do not stretch
to places
forgive me
but i am too tired to think about what you are thinking
now
it is my fingers
simply moving
and not knowing what it is doing
just following the water of the river
without fish
and moss
forgive me
for having wasted your time
i am tense
and i have fears about things that yet to come
i do not even know
i am afraid
and so forgive me
i am contagious and may destroy what ever mood
you may have today
and so forgive
me for taking you to the last line of this poem
it is this
nothingness that attacks me
like a bullet in my head
and so
forgive me
i am dead or
i am just playing dead because i am afraid.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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This Evening’s Light Is Golden Bright
This evening's light is golden bright,
The April’s coolness is so tender,
Though you are many years too late,
I still do welcome you to enter.
Right next to me why don't you sit
And look with happy eyes around.
This little notebook has in it
The poems written in my childhood.
Forgive me that I've lived and mourned,
And was not grateful for the sun rays…
Forgive me please, forgive me for
I have mistaken you for others…
poem by Anna Akhmatova
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To Live You Must Forgive
A man that has the power
To take a living breathing soul
Leaves you lonely, barren and bare
That eats away at your soul
You know not how to handle
The agony you feel
So you bury it deep down inside
Thinking you'll never live or feel
The years go pass and hidden
The agony and pain
It turns into hatred
That breaths darkness in your soul
When consumed with this hatred
Life becomes a living hell
You believe you're unable
To live and breathe again
So living like a zombie
You live from day to day
Barely surviving a life you hate to live
Consumes you everyday
But then you’re told to live once more
You need to forgive the wrong been done
At first you think is this joke
To forgive the man that buried my soul
That fateful day so long ago
At first you deny the truth
Still carrying hatred deep within
Then finally you realize
To live you must forgive
poem by Kaila George
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We the unforgiving
and we’ll never quite forgive our parents
for being our parents
and we’ll never never forgive that one
we thought our best friend
for stopping being our friend without
an explanation or anything
and we’ll never ever forgive our first lover
our first for heaven’s sake
for dumping us and ruining our whole life
and we'll never quite forgive -
no, let's not go there; that's
too close to home...
and we’ll never forgive God for,
oh everything, if we knew
how to not forgive God
and secretly we’ll never forgive ourselves
for all the things we wish we hadn’t done
although of course we deserve to be forgiven
for it wasn’t really our fault was it..
how could we forgive ourselves, when there’s that
that dark figure lurking behind us saying
don’t you dare forgive yourself,
you ungrateful little…
and if you forgave everyone, you wouldn’t
know who you were… it’s not
as easy as that, oh no
oh yes it is. oh yes it is.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Dont Rain On My Parade
Dont tell me not to live just sit and putter
Lifes candy and the suns a ball of butter
Dont bring around a cloud to rain on my parade
Dont tell me not to fly Ive simply got to
If someone takes a spill
Its me and not you
Who told you youre allowed to rain on my parade
Chorus:
Ill march my band out
Ill beat my drum
And if Im fanned out
Your turn at bat sir
At least I didnt fake it
Hat sir, I guess I didnt make it
But whether Im the rose of sheer perfection
Or freckle on the nose of lifes complexion
The cinder or the shiny apple of its eye
I gotta fly once, I gotta try once
Only can die once, right sir?
Love is juicy, juicy and you see
Ive got to have my bite sir
Get ready for me love cause Im a comer
Ive simply got to march my hearts a drummer
Dont bring around a cloud to rain on my parade
Im gonna live and live now
Get what I want I know how
One roll for the whole shebang
One throw that bell will go clang
Eye on the target and wham
One shot, one gunshot and bam
Hey mr. arnstein, here I am!
Chorus
Get ready for me love cause Im a comer
Ive simply got to march my hearts a drummer
Nobody, no nobody is gonna rain on my parade
song performed by by Debbie Gibson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Only Wanted
Doesnt it ever stay
Must it always fade away
Couldnt love ever be
Something tangible and real
Farewell, fairweather friend
Abandonment returns to taunt me again
I only wanted you to stay
Linger and mean the words you said
Foolishly I romanticized
Someone was saving my life
For the first time
I only wanted you to be there when i
Opened up my eyes
I was caught in your masquerade
Wish Id stayed beneath my veil
But it just seemed so easy to
Open up myself to you
Once more into the wind
The embers scatter
And the chill settles in
I only wanted you to stay
Linger and mean the words you said
Foolishly I romanticized
Someone was saving my life
For the first time
I only wanted you to be there when i
Opened up my eyes
Oh
I only wanted you to stay
Linger and mean the words you said
Foolishly I romanticized
Someone was saving my life
For the first time
I only wanted you to be
The one to get me through that night
I only wanted you
To be there when i
Opened up my eyes
Oh
Doesnt it ever stay?
I only wanted you to
Stay
song performed by by Mariah Carey
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Matrimony
Well, Im saving this dress for my wedding day
Momma wouldnt have it any other way
She says when she married, her waist was twenty three
I guess Ill never wear it anyway
I dont believe I care to marry
Though I cannot explain exactly why
It somehow seems to me that matrimony is misery
Simply a faster way to die
Im saving all my money for my wedding day
You know my momma wouldnt have it any other way
She says when she married, she didnt have a dime
But I guess Ill spend that money some other way
Because I dont believe I care to marry
Though I cannot explain exactly why
It somehow seems to me that matrimony is misery
Simply a faster way to die
Well, Im saving my best thing for my wedding day
Because my poppa wouldnt have it any other way
He says if I lose it early, Ill have thrown my life away
But I swear Ill use my cherry my own way
I dont believe I care to marry
Though I cannot explain exactly why
It somehow seems to me that matrimony is misery
Simply a faster way to die.
song performed by by Whiskeytown
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hogtied
Separate your heart from your soul, can you?
Liberate your mind from your form, would you?
Would you like to be thrown to the wind, ashes to ashes?
Or buried with the worms, dirt to dirt?
Perhaps burnt upon the stake, hogtied in agony, bound
or set out upon emotion, to drowned beneath the waves.
You know your love it's your saving grace, locate it if you can
is it the left half of my chest, does it lie within the palm of my hand?
Its mine to give, my life to live, my choice to forgive, to forget
would you let it slide?
Could you?
Should I?
poem by David Lacey
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I Know We Could Be So Happy, Baby
(j.buckley)
There's no easy answer, none to blame or forgive.
Two cripples dancing to the end we lie.
I'm not with you, not of you.
Not with you, not of you.
You are soft and young to me
I am the ghost who comes and goes
And i hope i'll catch you in the throws
Of one last look at the wonder,
One last look at the wonder.
Oh, god, i love you
And all the past we once knew
Some other love becomes you
Whatever else we come to
I know we could be so happy, baby
If we wanted to be
You are soft and young to me
I am the ghost who comes and goes
I'm hoping that i'll catch you in the throws
Of one last look at the joy that we've become.
But there's no easy answer, none to blame or forgive.
We were two cripples dancing, to the bitter end we live.
I'm not with you, but of you.
I'm not with you, but of you.
Oh, god, i loved you
And all the past we once knew
Some other love becomes you
Whatever else it comes to
I know we could be so happy, baby
If we wanted to be
We had a birthplace in common
We had separate beds and lives.
I know we could be so happy, baby
If we wanted to be
I know we could be so happy, baby
If we wanted to be
Yeah, oh.
song performed by by Jeff Buckley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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