We heard a rumor but did not know if it was a lie
Because it came from a very unreliable type of guy
He said the Christmas faerie was bringing new things
To put on the tree, he thought they had rings and slings
The Christmas faerie arrived shortly with ornaments too
They were colorful and pretty adorned in gold glitter glue
She told us never to listen to that old gossip Master Jim
He’s always been a liar, she said, no one can believe him.
News flash ~ Bob the snob’s a slob.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Perdition the Magician spread a rumor that was only a lie
He gave it to faeries, elves, gremlins, and brownies as they fluttered by
All the unicorns are dead except one, we call her Minerva he said.
They were crying and weeping because gorgeous unicorns were dead.
Holly Molly, a.k.a. Mrs. Christmas heard this rumor, it made her blue.
She was so sad about it, she had to stir her tears up into beef stew.
King Ding-a-Ling, a dictator who never got his own way
Ate up Holly Molly’s tears on that crazy unicorn-rumor day.
A blue bull heard the rumor and he said “that is a lie.”
He was big and burly, but also a relatively wise guy.
Besides, he had seen a herd of unicorns go over a hill.
A day or two ago, headed toward old Granny’s whiskey still.
A pirate captain had captured those unicorns, the last six alive.
He took them out to his ship, which was sailing for Van Five.
One of them escaped and swam quickly back to the shore.
The last unicorn ever seen again, her name was Lenore.
Rumor has it
he's this he's that
she's cool no she's wack
The truth lies in the fact
it's all words
& means nothing
in other words
Instead of mudslinging
with dirty words
try controlling your
own verbs
Maybe if we focus
on our lives
our own acts
& our vibes
Things might be a
better time
for you & yours
on all sides
Can't we all
just get along
on good accord
like great songs?
Sometimes
you strike a cord
then you're wrong
but that's alright
just keep going
Head to the sky to
move forward
& when you receive
pay it forward
The harmful intent?
It gets ignored
& laughed off like
"they're bored"
Life kinda resembles
a chess board
so play the game
and keep score
Rumor has it
that man he snores
& when at rest he
still scores
Check the facts
& scoreboards
cuz rumor has it
their sore
Chinese art influences Veronica’s living room
Dining area is black, stark, goth, full of gloom
Her kitchen is a catchall of a variety of junk
If anyone thinks she uses it, they are full of bunk
We did not see her bedroom, but I heard it has a theme
Many want to see it, but most can only dream
Veronica is private, she lets very few people really see her.
I have heard a rumor that her duvet in there is fur.
Chicken Little
Much like a messenger to mind,
Posed staring down into my face,
I sensed a rooster, brash and bold,
Was challenging my right to breathe.
Thus, in the inkling of an eye
With onset latent bleariness,
The old conundrum, fight or flight,
Was freshly flashing in my head.
This rooster was no idle threat.
Its size, imposing, filled my sky.
Its comb was cocked with attitude.
Its beak was aimed between my eyes.
Its eyes were beady like black peas.
They pierced my confidence and will.
Its countenance was firmly grim.
Its posture signaled, “Make my day!”
Then, in a moment’s timed elapse,
My brain awoke in roused synapse.
Fear not, it’s just macropsia.
The sky’s not falling after all.
My thighs and buttocks have dimples…
So I'm grateful they have so much to smile about! As my stretch marks, or laugh lines rather, can attest.
You must forgive my breasts…they've been upbeat and perky for many years and they deserve a rest.
My calves have a sense of fun! Bored with the same tan color, they've decided to decorate with streamers of purple and blue.
Not to be outdone, my arms have joined the fun, waving with enthusiasm whenever my hands do!
A life well lived and full of joy, of laughter, love, and humor. So now you'll know, if you hear I've “let myself go”, that it is just a rumor.
In the land of glitz and glitter.
Visionaires film moving pictures.
Acting out their fantasies.
Through love ,war, or tragedy.
Who got hot between the sheets.
To rhapsody's elusive beat.
As a plot began to steam
Audacity, almost Obscene.
Humors truth, alloyed themes.
Viewers rule, Android dreams.
Rumor sleuths, Tabloid screams.
Future jewels on a silver screen.
rumor was she smacked him over head with a skillet
last week he was sent to hospital with a concussion
had the prophecy come true?
We had heard of tomato head, of course.
Many thought it was a rumor spread by a horse.
Black Beauty was particularly fond of such lies.
I watched tomato head approach and felt some surprise.
Tomato head took advantage and snatched my candy away.
I was startled, but angry and yelled out “Hey! Hey!”
We chased tomato head to another field where she robbed a black cat.
Tomato head is horrible! I yelled to a pig way too fat.
The pig did not care, he was rolling in a vat of soft mud.
The cow was indifferent too, happily chewing her cud.
I thought I made tomato head up! The horse said in surprise.
Validation that this whole thing started with one of his lies.
At first we heard a timekeeper was broken
But how do you break a person?
Or was a timekeeper something else in this world?
I looked around for evidence of time.
I found no clocks, watches or sundials.
This is a strange planet, I admitted to my captain.
Maybe because all of the time dials have been stolen or broken.
That would explain the lack of structure.
People were running amok, as if they did not know whether to come or go.
Broken timekeepers are no joke.
Steady rustling of stacked-high newspapers,
On the vendors stand US skyscrapers;
A long face further parting with brightness:
The type that treated not things with lightness
It’s a man heading for a child’s mistake;
From last medical check-up much at stake!
Started it had with a rumored broadcast,
Which listening through made Chapman downcast.
Now, he’s at Lukman’s vendor stand for more
Of a hitting news that few minds could store:
“All banks shan’t be working for two weeks,
Their once-cheerful customers goddamned freaks!”
Yes, some bank manager did cook alive,
For home they’d sought to cashless point drive.
Chapman looked like he would die in a week,
Who had seemed throughout January sleek!
There's a rumor
that this boomer
employs humor...
He'd much rather
be a consumer
Rumor has it that this world is going to implode,
People are going to get everything that they are owed.
This world is so full of hate,
Some people say that it doesn’t matter at this rate.
Everything that used to be bright and sunny,
has been turned ugly by the love of money.
People, where is the love?
There is no need to shove.
No natural affection,
Only hatred that has spread like an infection.
Everything has been divided into black and white,
Contention mounted to bring about a fight.
People have been misguided,
This world is so lopsided.
How can this be fixed, what it will it take?
We need a Savior, and that my friend is not a mistake.
And out of this bleakness,
We can have Jesus.
In this world of darkness, He is light.
To the enemy of this world, He is kryptonite.
© Deborah Seale Schnadelbach
3/5/2022
Rudolph, again, got to pull Santa’s sleigh
Dasher and Dancer vowed he was gay,
Prancer and Vixen, they knew for sure --
That jealousy rumor was pure manure.
SECOND PLACE WINNER
written December 22, 2021
for "A Funny Christmas Themed 4 Lines" Poetry Contest
sponsored by Tania Kitchin
Sub Categories
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.