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Poetry Prompt: Good Mischief

By Heather Eure 6 Comments

magic under the umbrellaWe believe there should be a little more mischief in our lives. The “all-in-good-fun” kind of mischief that gets you invited to the good parties.

If you’re feeling stuck or lacking ideas of what kind of trouble you can get into, we’ve got all the inspiration you need. Take for example comedian Jeff Wysaski. He is well-known for posting prank informational posters around malls, grocery stores, and zoos. Once, he placed posters he’d created with phony animal facts around the Los Angeles Zoo. Some of his made up facts contained humorous misinformation like: “If you give a tiny trombone to 76 ducklings, they will lead the most adorable parade you’ve ever seen, ” and “All barn owls think that one line in the ‘Friends’ theme song is ‘Owl be there for you.’ Don’t tell them the truth. It would devastate them.”

Although most people appreciate the good humor, there are a few who don’t find his hi-jinks funny and consider it an act of vandalism. Whichever side of the fence you land, we can all agree on Jeff’s ability to get into mischief.

If you’d like to have a few of your own witty posters created by Jeff to place on the poles around your neighborhood, you can get them here. Now look at what you’ve started.

Try It: Mischief Poetry

Are you ready to get into a little playfulness? Is there a favorite memory of yours or another’s mischievous acts? Write a poem about the caper. Flirt with the story to make it an act of poetry. Or maybe you’ve been inspired to renew a spirit of making mischief. Practice your skills at shenanigans and actually get out there and be mischievous. Then write a poem or post a photograph of your tomfoolery. We’ll be reading and chuckling. 🙂

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Featured Poem

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s a Yellowstone-inspired poem by Prasanta we enjoyed:

Freely Roam

You know I long to roam, at my will
Like wildlife and buffalo
In the wild backdrop of forested hills

I see herds on the path, just downhill
Past steaming springs, bubbling above ground
It makes me long to roam, at my will

I hike back trails and hear unknown trills
Listen to muffled messages in tall grasses
Against a wild backdrop of forested hills

Pronghorn deer fly with effortless skill
Unbound in the valley below
And it makes me long to roam, at my will

I hear the osprey –  a shrill
Cry amidst a settled peacefulness here
And it makes me long to freely roam, at my will
In the wild backdrop of forested hills

—by Prasanta

Photo by Eddie van W., Creative Commons via Flickr.

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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: Blog, Mischief and Magic, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, writer's group resources, writing prompt

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Comments

  1. Monica Sharman says

    December 12, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    Grocery List

    Subversive act calculated
    to overthrow the tyrannous
    boredom of a chore:
    grocery store items
    scrawled in a dull, numb rush.

    In black ball-point,
    a clandestine addition
    penned in stealth
    there under butter,
    milk, eggs,
    sneaking
    mirth into the list:
    MAKE SURE TO SMILE!
    And I buy it.

    Reply
    • Monica Sharman says

      December 12, 2016 at 2:49 pm

      Love this prompt! Funny — I just tweeted about this last week. 🙂 Here’s the photo of that grocery list:
      https://twitter.com/monicasharman/status/806253402288226304

      Reply
      • Heather Eure says

        December 15, 2016 at 11:11 pm

        Haha! Terrific. I might need to add that to a few of our to-do lists around the house!

        Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      December 15, 2016 at 11:10 pm

      What a fun poem, Monica. Just a bit of magic to brighten up the day. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Katie says

    December 17, 2016 at 12:44 pm

    The Ride Home

    In the passenger seat
    I discover a left over

    A little silver “bell”
    in my coat pocket

    “This ought to be good!”
    I think to myself in jest

    Pastor starts the car
    puts it in reverse

    “Thanks for the lift,
    want a “kiss”?”

    His head swivels right
    jaw dropping to his chest

    Eyes bugging out
    in disbelief and shock

    I pull out the Hershey’s
    Chocolate treat

    Hold it from the top
    giggling with glee;)

    Reply

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  1. Poetry Prompt: A Little Magic - says:
    December 19, 2016 at 8:00 am

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

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