Traditional Masks For Sale in Venice

“I am a great and sublime fool. But then I am God’s fool, and all His works must be contemplated with respect.” -Mark Twain

“With too much pride a man cannot learn a thing. In and of itself, learning teaches you how foolish you are.” Criss Jami,

“To smile at the jest which plants a thorn in another’s breast is to become a principal in the mischief.” -Richard Brinsley Sheridan

“But humor is too delicate and evanescent a thing to be extracted from a book like plums from a pudding.” -Beatrix

“A pun is not bound by the laws which limit nicer wit. It is a pistol let off at the ear; not a feather to tickle the intellect.” -Charles Lamb

“What monstrous absurdities and paradoxes have resisted whole batteries of serious arguments, and then crumbled swiftly into dust before the ringing death-knell of a laugh!” -Agnes Repplier

Merry first of April to us all. Hello and welcome to another exciting week of Prompt Nights. We all love to joke around and play pranks on each other every now and then. Tonight, let’s have some fun. Write a poem or prose regarding the subject of humor, pun or satire. You can also opt to describe a funny incident which has occurred with you or a loved one. The prompt is wide open to interpretation. Previously written work is more than welcome. For further inspiration please refer to these two wonderful poems below:

Father William

by Lewis Carroll

‘You are old, father William,’ the young man said,
‘And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head –
Do you think, at your age, it is right?’

‘In my youth,’ father William replied to his son,
‘I feared it would injure the brain;
But now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.’

‘You are old,’ said the youth, ‘as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door –
Pray, what is the reason of that?’

‘In my youth,’ said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
‘I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment – one shilling the box –
Allow me to sell you a couple.’

‘You are old,’ said the youth, ‘and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak –
Pray, how did you manage to do it?’

‘In my youth,’ said his father, ‘I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life.’

‘You are old,’ said the youth; one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose –
What made you so awfully clever?’

‘I have answered three questions, and that is enough,’
Said his father; ‘don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I’ll kick you down stairs!’

‘That is not said right,’ said the Caterpillar.
‘Not quite right, I’m afraid,’ said Alice timidly;
‘some of the words have got altered.’
‘It is wrong from beginning to end,’
said the Caterpillar decidedly, and
there was silence for some minutes.

The Triple Fool

by John Donne

I am two fools, I know,
For loving, and for saying so
In whining poetry;
But where’s that wiseman, that would not be I,
If she would not deny?
Then as th’ earth’s inward narrow crooked lanes
Do purge sea water’s fretful salt away,
I thought, if I could draw my pains
Through rhyme’s vexation, I should them allay.
Grief brought to numbers cannot be so fierce,
For he tames it, that fetters it in verse.

But when I have done so,
Some man, his art and voice to show,
Doth set and sing my pain;
And, by delighting many, frees again
Grief, which verse did restrain.
To love and grief tribute of verse belongs,
But not of such as pleases when ’tis read.
Both are increased by such songs,
For both their triumphs so are published,
And I, which was two fools, do so grow three;
Who are a little wise, the best fools be.

 

So pick up a pen and lets begin! As always the prompt will remain open the entire week so that everyone can write according to their own pace and time. Please click on the blue widget below. When it opens be sure to click on “add your link.” Now skip the blanks and proceed directly to “try here” written at the end in small font. It will direct you on how to link your poem. Please visit other Poets and do comment on their poems. Have fun ❤️