Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Poetry Prompt: Ballads, Strange and Silly

By Heather Eure 21 Comments

The theme of a ballad is limited only by your own imagination. The narrative can be as lively and diverse as you choose.

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s part of a poem from Prasanta we enjoyed:

She threw her pearls like water, a chain of droplets
Stuck in a moment of time
Caught by the next passerby, the next wave of sunshine

—by Prasanta Verma

The rhythm of a ballad lends itself to children’s poetry. This gives the poet a license to weave outrageous and sometimes funny stories within the rhyme. But, they’re not just for kids.  A little nonsense is good for the child in all of us.

POETRY PROMPT: Within the framework of the four-line ballad stanza, write a silly poem a child might enjoy.

Here’s an example of a ballad that’s delightfully absurd:

Pumberly Pott’s Unpredictable Niece

Pumberly Pott’s unpredictable niece
declared with her usual zeal
that she would devour, by piece after piece,
her uncle’s new automobile.

She set to her task very early one morn
by consuming the whole carburetor;
then she swallowed the windshield, the headlights and horn,
and the steering wheel just a bit later.

She chomped on the doors, on the handles and locks,
on the valves and the pistons and rings;
on the air pump and fuel pump and spark plugs and shocks,
on the brakes and the axles and springs.

When her uncle arrived she was chewing a hash
made of leftover hoses and wires
(she’d just finished eating the clutch and the dash
and the steel-belted radial tires).

“Oh, what have you done to my auto, ” he cried,
“you strange unpredictable lass?”
“The thing won’t work, Uncle Pott, ” she replied,
and he wept, “It was just out of gas.”

—by Jack Prelutsky

Let’s see just how silly you can be. 🙂

Photo by Jenny Downing. Creative Commons license via Flickr. Post by Heather Eure.

________________________

Sometimes we feature your poems in Every Day Poems, with your permission of course. Thanks for writing with us!

Browse Writing Prompts
Browse Ballads
Browse more Poetry Teaching Resources

 

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Heather Eure
Heather Eure
Heather Eure has served as the Poetry Editor for the late Burnside Collective and Special Projects Editor for us at Tweetspeak Poetry. Her poems have appeared at Every Day Poems. Her wit has appeared just about everywhere she's ever showed up, and if you're lucky you were there to hear it.
Heather Eure
Latest posts by Heather Eure (see all)
  • Poetry Prompt: Misunderstood Lion - March 19, 2018
  • Animate: Lions & Lambs Poetry Prompt - March 12, 2018
  • Poetry Prompt: Behind the Velvet Rope - February 26, 2018

Filed Under: Ballad Poems, Ballads, Blog, Funny Poems, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, writing prompts

Try Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Maureen Doallas says

    September 22, 2014 at 10:46 am

    So glad to see a Pretlusky here. I read his poems to my only. Love his work!

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 24, 2014 at 3:39 pm

      Same here, Maureen. He was part of my kids introduction to poetry.

      Reply
  2. Marcy says

    September 22, 2014 at 12:44 pm

    Mercy, that poem was a gas, not only did I enjoy it but laughed and smiled through it. Who in the world could top that?

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 24, 2014 at 3:42 pm

      Delighted that you enjoyed it, Marcy! If you have a chance, check out his other poems. Guaranteed to make you smile.

      Reply
      • Marcy says

        September 24, 2014 at 6:58 pm

        I added it to my favorite places, thanks so much, can’t wait to read them all.

        Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 24, 2014 at 3:50 pm

      Here’s a link for convenience. 🙂
      http://jackprelutsky.com/jacks-poems/

      Reply
  3. Prasanta says

    September 23, 2014 at 12:24 am

    The Prelutsky piece was delightful!

    Thank you for highlighting a few of my lines here today– a very sweet and pleasant surprise!

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 24, 2014 at 3:43 pm

      It was a lovely poem in its entirety. Glad you’re here.

      Reply
  4. Richard Maxson says

    September 23, 2014 at 5:38 am

    Prasanta, what a beautiful poem is Caroline!
    Heather posted my favorite lines too.

    Reply
    • Prasanta says

      September 23, 2014 at 2:09 pm

      Richard, thank you so much. It was a pleasant surprise. I actually wasn’t too thrilled with my poem… I think it needs some work! But I thank you all for the encouragement!

      Reply
  5. Richard Maxson says

    September 24, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    Here’s one strange and silly. Wish I could draw the characters.

    http://theimaginedjay.com/?p=782

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 24, 2014 at 3:50 pm

      Wonderful, Richard! This is fun with plenteous metaphor. Thanks!

      Reply
    • Elizabeth W. Marshall says

      September 28, 2014 at 2:34 pm

      So wildly imaginative. I just love it. Such a departure from your other poetry. Seems a little Lewis Carroll or Dr. Seuss-y. Love it

      Reply
      • Richard Maxson says

        September 29, 2014 at 10:52 am

        Thanks, Heather and Elizabeth.

        Reply
  6. Elizabeth W. Marshall says

    September 28, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    Prasanta, your lines are rich and lovely. So happy to see you here on a regular basis.

    Heather, what an outrageously fun piece. I believe this marks my introduction to this particular poet. How delightful. Will look forward to more of his humor and rhyme.

    Reply
  7. Elizabeth W. Marshall says

    September 28, 2014 at 4:22 pm

    The Parable of The Last Slice of Pie

    The eighth slice sat alone on a metallic tin
    Looking lost, like Eve’s apple, rather toxic
    Fingers folded shut, no one wanted to be caught again
    Sinking their teeth into such sugary delight would prove catastrophic.

    For no one dares take the LAST slice
    Not the hostess, guests, no one would eat the eighth
    They’d been taught it wasn’t nice
    Even if it was taken in good faith

    In an effort to flatter the baker
    Even if you happen to be the mayor

    Cutting your pies in sixes or seven’s is nice
    Anything but into eight
    This solves the mystery of the final slice
    Such mixed messages we seem to get

    We’ve all been told to clean our plates

    The moral seems to be murky at best here
    Leave it and it may be eaten by one of these my dear:

    Your waiter, a neighbor or a cruel dictator
    From Jamaica or somewhere near the equator
    A sailor, a player, or a day laborer

    Who may save it for their seder
    To eat on an ocean freighter
    A tailor who’ll savor it in an amphitheater
    Or perhaps a slippery fingered quaker

    Or just forego all this crazy talk
    And switch to vanilla ice cream
    With hot chocolate sauce

    Reply
    • Richard Maxson says

      September 29, 2014 at 10:59 am

      Very enjoyable, Elizabeth. An age old predicament.

      But regarding eight pieces,
      I’d be a good feller
      and save the last for the mices,
      that live in the cellar.

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Marshall says

        September 29, 2014 at 11:04 am

        Richard, you may find this too curious to believe, but the computer ate my first poem, munched and crunched it right out of the comment box. So I began again. Origin version had the pie piece eaten by a trio or trespassing mice. I like yours even better. My memory is dulling. I had to start over and leave the poor mice out completely. Thanks for reading.

        Reply
        • Richard Maxson says

          September 29, 2014 at 6:29 pm

          I knew you would’ve put some wee mices in there. 🙂

          That’s awful when we lose something we’ve created. Just today I received a new computer, because mine fried from a power surge or something. It was on a 250 kva backup power supply. I also ordered a 500 kva power supply with the new one. Now to see if my cloud recovery works. I hope you did not lose too much in the munch and crunch.

          Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Poem of the Town That Was Upside-down | The Imagined Jay says:
    September 24, 2014 at 1:16 pm

    […] Posted in TSPoetry Ballads Strange and Silly […]

    Reply
  2. Poetry Prompt: American Roots - says:
    September 29, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    […] to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s a humorous poem from Elizabeth we […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our May Menu

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

The Graphic Novel

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

How to Write Poetry

Your Comments

  • Donna Hilbert on Poets and Poems: L.L. Barkat and “Beyond the Glass”
  • L.L. Barkat on Poets and Poems: L.L. Barkat and “Beyond the Glass”
  • Poets and Poems: L.L. Barkat and “Beyond the Glass” - Tweetspeak Poetry on Love, Etc.: Poems of Love, Laughter, Longing & Loss
  • Glynn on World War II Had Its Poets, Too

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2025 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy