Reply Lyrics
Dear Bill: I've made a
Couple of sandwiches for you.
In the ice-box you'll find
Blue-berries--a cup of grapefruit
A glass of cold coffee.
On the stove is the tea-pot
With enough tea leaves
For you to make tea if you
Prefer--Just light the gas--
Boil the water and put it in the tea
Plenty of bread in the bread-box
And butter and eggs--
I didn't know just what to
Make for you. Several people
Called up about office hours--
See you later. Love. Floss.
Please switch off the telephone.
About
As UPenn professor Al Filreis usefully transcribes for us, this a note Williams typed up in his own manuscripts – it went unpublished in his lifetime.
It’s a piece of ‘found poetry’ in which he presents a note from his wife Florence as a “Reply” of sorts to his more popular plum poem “This is Just to Say” (see video above). In form, it’s a nicely modernist technique to just transcribe a mundane, matter-of-fact missive (letter/note) into line breaks and, thus – BOOM! – it’s poetry!
In it, the author’s wife seems to reinforce her role as the domestic manager of the house, after the author’s transgression with the plums. “Reply” both represents a uniquely modern artistic endeavor, and offers a glimpse into an authentic-feeling marital moment between the poetic versions of the Williamses..
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning