TO A POOR OLD WOMAN

munching a plum on
the street a paper bag
of them in her hand

They taste good to her
They taste good
to her. They taste
good to her

You can see it by
the way she gives herself
to the one half
sucked out in her hand

Comforted
a solace of ripe plums
seeming to fill the air
They taste good to her

— 

1. What are your feelings towards this woman as she is portrayed in the poem? 
2. Why do you think William Carlos Williams repeats that line “they taste good to her“ over and over again? 
3. What are your memories of comfort food, particularly as a child? What sort of food do you find comforting to eat now? 
4. This poem seems to be a celebration of fruit as life and life as fruit, do you have any particular experiences of eating fruit in this almost transcendent way? 
5. What do you think this woman is thinking about? Or is the rapture of this poem pointing to the fact that she is thoughtless at this moment, completely one with the sensations of eating her bag of plums?

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Intro & Exit music: God Only Knows (piano cover) by Sangah Noona

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