Perfection
- Written by: Amy Frykholm
Published: 1 August 2026
William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)
Perfection
O lovely apple!
beautifully and completely
rotten
hardly a contour marred--
perhaps a little
shrivelled at the top but that
aside perfect
in every detail! O lovely
apple! what a
deep and suffusing brown
mantles that
unspoiled surface! No one
has moved you
since I placed you on the porch
rail a month ago
to ripen.
No one. No one!
William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) was an American poet perhaps most famous for his advice to poets, "No ideas but in things." In addition to his literary career, he was a family doctor and pediatrician. He won the National Book Award and many other awards for his poetry.
Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net
