NPM Project: Jumping Into Form - Poems of Apology

Poems of apology ... well, we must begin with the poem that started it all.

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

Poem ©William Carlos Williams. All rights reserved.

There are some who call this "the dreaded plum poem." I happen to like "This is Just to Say". Was the speaker truly remorseful? It's hard to say. Would I have forgiven the writer? Eventually, but I would have been really aggravated to find and read that note. I can just imagine it today, scribbled on a Post-It note stuck to the refrigerator.

The books that follow contain poems in the style of Williams, and are written as apologies.

This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness (2007), written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, is written in the voices of school children and is organized in this fashion.

• Table of Contents
• Introduction written by Anthony K., a "student" in Mrs. Merz's class
• This Is Just to Say, by William Carlos Williams
• Part 1: Apologies
• Part 2: Responses

This book is a direct result of Sidman's work as a writer-in-residence at schools, where she uses the poem as a model. There is a wealth of material here, with seventeen apology and seventeen response poems. Here's a sample pair of poems. 

The Black Spot

(written by Alyssa for her sister Carrie)

That black spot on your palm.

It never goes away. 

So long ago

I can hardly remember,

I stabbed you with a pencil.

Part of the lead, there,

still inside you.

And inside me, too,

something small and black.

Hidden away.

I don't know what to call it,

the nugget of darkness,

that made me stab you.

It never goes away.

Both marks, still there.
Small black
reminders.

Roses Are Red
(written by Carrie in response to Alyssa)

Roses are red,
violets are blue.
I’m still really
pissed off at you.

Poems ©Joyce Sidman. All rights reserved.

The topics and emotions related in these poems are those that any child today might deal with. There are apologies for making fun of the dress a teacher is wearing, breaking a mother's precious glass deer, not winning a spelling bee, hitting a friend too hard with a dodge ball, and more. Some of the poems reveal the writer to be truly remorseful, while others are only slightly apologetic. 

To learn more you should check out the particularly useful reader's guide at Sidman's web site. You may also want to take a moment to watch and listen to her read from the book.

Forgive me.

This next book

is anything 

but remorseful.

Since it borrows

Williams' form,

I had to include it.

Please read on

and chastise me

later.

Forgive Me, I Meant To Do It: False Apology Poems, written by Gail Carson Levine and illustrated by Matthew Cordell, is a collection of poems connected with nursery rhyme or fairy tale themes and characters that borrow Williams' form but include apologies that are conditional or utterly insincere. Some of these poems are dark, but they're all entertaining and some are downright funny. Here's one of my favorites.

This Is Just to Say

I have shortened

my nose

with your saw

because 

honestly

telling lies

is so much fun

Forgive me

I don't care

about becoming 

a real boy

(Pinocchio)

Poem ©Gail Carson Levine. All rights reserved.

You can download an excerpt from the Harper Collins site. Better yet, head over to Matthew Cordell's blog for a view of the art and some of the poems.

If you are interested in writing poems of apology with your students, check out some of these resources.

• Guy Noir: Saturday, November 30, 2002 - In this Prairie Home Companion episode, private eye Guy Noir investigates a poetic catastrophe with the help of Billy Collins, who shares parodies of Williams' "This Is Just to Say." 
• Here's a very cool lesson plan that revolves around Williams' poem.
• Education Umbrella also has a lesson plan for "This Is Just to Say."
• Here is a Six-Trait writing lesson using This is Just to Say.
• For more ideas and examples, read the apology poems at Hands-On Stanzas.
• America Scores has a lesson plan for a one-hour workshop on writing apology poems.
• ReadWriteThink has a lesson on Letter Poems that features Williams' poem.

That's it for poems of apology. Join me this weekend for interviews with Joyce Sidman and Joan Bransfield Graham.