Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
Original Text
Koch, Kenneth. The Collected Poems of Kenneth Koch. New York, NY: Knopf, 2005: 135.
1I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
2I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do
3and its wooden beams were so inviting.
4We laughed at the hollyhocks together
5and then I sprayed them with lye.
6Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.
7I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the next ten years.
8The man who asked for it was shabby
9and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.
10Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
11Forgive me. I was clumsy and
12I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!
Publication Start Year
1962
Publication Notes
Thank You and Other Poems.
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire, assisted by Ana Berdinskikh
RPO Edition
2009
Rhyme
Form