Poking William Carlos Williams With A Stick

Okay, so I have had a bit of fun with the works of William Carlos Williams.  A few years ago I wrote a golden shovel poem based on his poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow."

Here's a refresher:

The "golden shovel" is a fun poetic form to work with.

Here are the rules for the Golden Shovel:
Take a line (or lines) from a poem you admire.
Use each word in the line (or lines) as an end word in your poem.
Keep the end words in order.
Give credit to the poet who originally wrote the line (or lines).
The new poem does not have to be about the same subject as the poem that offers the end words.
If you pull a line with six words, your poem would be six lines long. If you pull a stanza with 24 words, your poem would be 24 lines long. And so on.

Here is the original poem:

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens - William Carlos Williams

And here is the golden shovel poem I wrote, based on it:

Questions for William Carlos Williams

Why do my thoughts torment me so?
Why did Edward R. Murrow smoke so much?
Is that a statue of Buddha from whose nose an icicle depends?
Do you have a more comfortable chair to sit upon?

Who decided that the first letter of the alphabet should be a?
Who is that alluring woman in red?
How long did humans exist before someone invented the wheel?
Whose body lies buried beneath that barrow?

What kind of doughnut do you want, jelly or glazed?
Is it a preposition you’re not supposed to end a sentence with?
Do you think it’s going to rain?
Shall I bring you a glass of water?

Whose dog is that cat lying beside?
Is the most commonly used word in the English language the?
Why do I always spill something on myself when I wear white?
Damn, I wish I knew how to read tea leaves or the guts of chickens! — Jeff Barnes

Today I have been having a bit of fun with his poem, "This Is Just To Say."  This one is not a golden shovel poem; it is just a parody. Here is the original poem:

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

And now my parody:

Plum Crazy

This is just to say

I have fondled

the plums

that are in

the fridge

and which

you might have

been saving

for breakfast, lunch

or whatever

Forgive me

they seemed to have

little purple

buttocks

I could not keep my

hands off

Forgive me

for being

such a

perv - Jeff Barnes