~Enigmatic Meanderings~

There’s a lot to write about, but I’ll save it in order to make room for something light and fun.

Last week’s (radio) episode of This American Life was entitled “Mistakes Were Made.” Basically it was about people who apologize without really apologizing at all. For those of you unfamiliar with TAL (you can check the podcast out on iTunes), basically what they do is choose a theme and then tell stories that are somehow about that theme.

So, in this particular episode, host Ira Glass began by reading an aplogy sent by Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY) to Presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) after the former made remarks in a press conference recently about the latter saying, “that boy doesn’t need to have his finger on the button.” In the letter, Congressman Davis seems to be sincerely apologetic, and though it’s a formal lettter, wants to clearly and personally convey this to Senator Obama. After reading the letter, Glass contrasted it with recent “apologies” given by Senator Obama and his rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) ,concerning statements about supposedly bitter Americans clinging to guns and religion and incorrect reccollections about supposed sniper fire, respectively.

After walking his audience through this brief but timely introduction, Glass then introduced the two acts of the program. Act One was the majority of the show and was primarily about the early days of Cryonics. It was devestating, heartbreaking, and extremely interesting all at the same time. Act Two was much shorter by comparison, but is the one that really struck me.

This act was about a poem entitled This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams. The text of this poem is below:

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

I won’t do a lot of literary analysis here, but you can probalby see rather easily how this poem fit in with the theme of the show. Evidently, elementary school teachers use this poem regularly to help teach poetry to their students and often have them write a version of their own. In fact, a lot of people do this. If you google “this is just to say parody,” you can find all kinds of them. In fact, TAL had many of it regular contributers offer some of their own.

Well, this sounded great to me. I’m always on the lookout for writing exercises that are really different from what I’m used to and that can help challenge my creative impulses (and, if I’m honest, procrastinate working on what I need to be doing). So, I decided to give it a shot and share it with you. Below you’ll find some of my own variations. Enjoy!

——————–

This is Just to Say

1.
Today
Is the day
I said I
Would have it done

Of course
It’s not
Surprise
Surprise!

But it
Will be
Soon
I promise

2.
I told
Your secret
To everyone
Oops

I guess
That means
I can’t
Be trusted

But what
You don’t know
Can’t
Hurt you

3.
“I love you”
Meant “I want you”
“Trust me”
Meant “Take me”

But you know
What they say
“It takes two
To tango”

So why
Do you
Ignore
Me now

4.
I’m not
What you want
I’m not
What I could be

So?
You just
Need to
Get over it

How can I
Be anything
Other than
Me

5.
I didn’t
Do it
‘Cause I didn’t
Want to

It is
Really
Just that
Simple

Why not
Just
Accept
It

6.
I deleted
Your show
So I could
TiVo mine

I just
Couldn’t
Live
Without it

Yours was
Pretty
Crappy
Anyway

Plus they’ll
Probably
Rerun it
Again soon

7.
I know
I told you
I would
Have it done

But you
Know me well
How I like
To put things off

So you
Should have known
It would be
A little late

8.
We’ve made
A few deals
In our
Time together

If you
Do this
Then I’ll
Do that

Of course
I fail
Even though
You don’t

But that’s
To be
Expected
Right?

9.
I am
The one
Who swiped
Your change

I was
Thirsty
And bought
A Coke

This was
Not the
First time
Either

Sorry
But I
Couldn’t
Resist

10.
I know
I’ve been
Distant
And rude

But you
Have been
Driving me
Crazy

So selfish
So needy
So passive
Aggressive

You can’t
Really blame
Me then
Can you

But I’m
Sorry
If I hurt
Your feelings

You really
Shouldn’t
Be so
Sensitive

——————–

Now, why don’t you give it a shot?

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Tags: Barack Obama, Creativity, Cryonics, Exercises, Geoff Davis, Hillary Clinton, Ira Glass, Poetry, This American Life, This Is Just To Say, William Carlos Williams