Poem Analysis 8: This Is Just To Say

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

 Reading this poem for the first time, I honestly thought it had zero meaning to it whatsoever. The way in which the speaker informs us that he/she has eaten the last of the plums in the fridge seems super sarcastic. I compared this tone to how my sister and I would antagonize one another when we were younger; I would always take her stuff and she would always take mine. Furthermore, though, the speaker of this poem may be trying to articulate a certain message across for the readers. The way the lines are written makes it seem as though the speaker is just trying to get a certain point across because the words are so random and jumbled together. The message could possibly be a rude way of saying sorry or a thoughtful way of saying sorry. Even though the speaker sounds sarcastic in a way, maybe he/she is just trying to apologize to the "owner of the plums". In this case, I would think that the speaker is saying sorry in the nicest way possible.
 The jumbled words display a sense of un-organization throughout the poem which could represent the speaker's guilt for eating the plums in the first place. The title, "This is just to say", is the very start for an apology for the choice or decision that the speaker had made in his/her life. Overall, the author's choice of poem telling is very alluring because it's written in a simple way. Because of this technique, I felt more connected with this poem; as it resembled the reality in most of our lives.