I was in the mood
for a real page-turner.
My bibliophile friend
handed me a book of white-knuckle suspense.
"Read this! It's quite a doozy!," she promised.
And she wasn't lying....
I blew off many a phone call,
filed away my to-do lists,
prioritized book above all hobbies,
yadda yadda.....
I was surprised how fast I got to
the final chapter.
Alas, I didn't get to close the book.
Not yet anyway...
A surprise I never anticipated, you see.
Ugh, never have I
groaned so loudly in my life!
Jane knew I'd come to her
confused, demanding an explanation....
"Hey, is this your idea of a practical joke?", I asked.
She guffawed her "Yes,"
handing me
the last page she tore out.
Silly gal, best believe I'll get her back.....
Life's one big practical joke.
I'm standing on top of the world.
Laughter gets me through anything.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 3rd place 2026
Do you hear me now
It's too nice a day
I'm outside your window
I want to play.
Let's go to the arch
And dive off the side
Where the dragonflies march
And the water gets wide
We'll skip stones and compete
You're good, but I'll beat
We'll walk on a log
Find a turtle or a frog
We'll find a thrill in the mundane
Dad will take us to the water slide.
We'll go too fast, safe is too tame
But its stay on the sidelines or go for the ride.
I'll put a mouse in your shoe, but you'll get even with me
Just a practical joke, will be my plea
Revenge develops creativity
So you'll tie my sneakers up in a tree.
One day I'll be a fireman, you'll be a vet
We don't want to be kids till we're gray
Childhood's sun rises, Childhood's sun sets
Let's take it to the limit, then seize the day.
Dreaming,with eyes wide open..yearning,to know what's true..Awake,but still unfocused.. How
could this be real?.. I have to be asleep still..so I pinch myself, to startle me awake..my mind
is playing tricks on me..this has gotta all be fake..A practical joke,some elaborate scheme..but
who other than myself..could possibly know the woman in my dreams..I dare not share her,to
no one I've mentioned a peep..she's my gift alone..she came to me in my sleep..we speak of life
and love..laughter,seems never ending..faith, is brought up often..at times I pray i can bring
her with me..My eyes begin to focus..the pinch has brought me from my slumber..my dream
woman lies next to me,she's snuggled in my covers..my prayers have been answered.. I thank
the lord above..her eyes flutter and I see her smile..I reach over, and give the woman of my
dreams....A good morning kiss and hug!....
Mmmm - to have a good old soak
In bubbles in my bath
But someone played a practical joke
It isn’t funny, so do not laugh
Tell me when this happened
When did this occurrence occur
One day I could climb into my bath
But now I can’t even transfer
Oh dear it’s so depressing
I cannot bear to think
That I will never bathe again
It’s enough to turn a gal to drink
I will climb back into my bath
If it’s the last thing that I do
But have a fireman standing by
In case I fall - in case I die
I luxuriate immersed in bubbles
The water right up to my neck
To savour and bask and forget all my troubles
If I can’t get out, too bad, what the heck
A life without a good old soak
Is so depressing and is no joke
So even if I’m here forever, stuck inside this bath
I will die happy, clean and fresh, and ready for a laugh
So I will savour and enjoy it
The bubbles and the soap
And when the water starts to cool
Endeavour to get out - I hope!
Written after my last bath – sadly showers only from now on - 2018
Contest Strand Choice M
Sponsor Brian Strand
HONORABLE MENTION
I am in charge of a nominating committee.
I nominate what I believe the entire nation should eat,
and I nominated cheeseburgers and was supported by the democratic party.
Fried Chicken has always been a favorite of the republican party,
so I also nominated Fried Chicken, the republican party unanimously agreed.
Eat Anything You Want has been proposed by some lone independent,
whom you can also vote for, but who most likely won't win,
in a major election without funding and corporate backing.
Is this truly a democracy?
I can sell it to you as a democracy,
because you get to vote and choose what the entire nation will eat,
and in a well funded majorly publicized election,
tribal groups will form that are Pro Cheeseburgers and Anti Fried Chicken,
while other groups argue that Cheeseburgers will be the death of everyone,
and Fried Chicken will be the answer to everyone's salvation.
Is this truly a democracy?
I can sell it to you as a democracy because you get to vote,
but if you ask me, this questionable democracy as well as our vote,
is nothing more than one sad, pathetic practical joke.
… being played on all of us.
The greatest practical joke,
that the devil played on all the simple folk,
was to convince them that he didn't exist,
but you haven't convinced all Mr Bilderberg.
I and others are spreading the word.
Winter’s chill creep’s up on us each year
The unforgiving frost start’s to appear
Spreading through the landscape
With little warning, nothing can escape
The dark encroaching on the daylight
We are living in constant night
The street lamp’s illuminating every pavement
Helping cold soul’s to escape winter’s enslavement
The site of the bellowing grey chimney smoke
Reminds us that this is Mother Nature’s practical joke
The burning wood and coal fueled fire’s
Help’s us all to bond together as families and inspire
Each other in admiring the majestic wonder of the cold
Winter nights, that seem to completely take hold
C.Hawkins 02/10/17
Exploration
By the lead of deception,
A grip of fraudulent rope,
Confusion and misdirection...
A harness to a fake chariot of hope,
Reversed acceleration,
A practical joke?
If it ceases to be yours
When you cease to be yourself,
Then, what is yours
And who are you
To tell me where to go
Or where I can sleep
Or what I must own?
Sorry, my dear friend
But try some else...
Romeo Della Valle
(c)All rights reserved-2014
New York City
The Practical Joker
By Elton Camp
Joe, by a paving contractor, was employed
Practical jokes were what he most enjoyed
When an extra pair of boots he spied
Another of his inane tricks he tried
With paving he covered the tops well
And then with panic Joe began to yell
“Somebody help!” is what he cried
“It looks like a workman has died!”
“His poor body I have just located.
With paving he’s been suffocated!”
The foreman ran from the construction shack
At the horrible sight he was taken aback
He suddenly said, “I don’t feel very well.”
Clutching his chest, to his knees he fell
This was the last practical joke Joe tried
Due to his stupidity, the foreman died
Proverbs 26: 18, 19 – “As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows and death,
So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?”
Her name is Sundae, with four white paws...
Whatever her scheme whatever her cause
If I scan the newspaper, digesting the news
My effort is vain, ...there is simply no use!
Perhaps it is Sundae's practical joke...
It seems that this cat has a strong jealous streak!
For she prods and she pokes, craving my strokes
She pokes holes in the paper....hops onto my knees
Purring with ease....getting under my chin...with her Cheshire grin
Pushing aside, or squeezing within
She paws at my paper, this pesky dear pet
Requiring attention, till her own needs are met!
If I’m scanning a letter, there's a page to be read
I must stop what I'm doing, and love her instead!
It's all in her skill...wrinkled papers.....her thrill...
She's a sassy old cat, jealous lover, in fact...it's as simple as that!
.................................
The Joker of the John
By Elton Camp
When the dispenser gets empty, all will fume
But won’t put paper in the executive restroom
To put on a new roll is just way too undignified
And it would become the job of anyone spied
But Robert simply loves a good practical joke
Thought of one that with glee made him choke
With a roll of duct tape and a felt marker pen
He played a very funny joke on the office’s men
And this is what Robert then proceeded to do
Left duct tape & note, “How desperate are you?”
But the company president went in for a dump
And then angrily on the toilet door did thump
“Whoever’s the one who pulled this stupid trick
If I learn his name, he’s going to be fired quick!”
Robert kept his eyes glued to his computer screen
And he surely did hope that he hadn’t been seen
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.