This is so fun to read, unrestrained yet structured, carrying a genuine thread of vulnerability through all the wobbling, splatting, and clunking. I love it! <3
Laura, this has such a delightful sense of motion, as if the poem is tumbling forward on the sound of its own words. The challenge could have easily become a list of funny noises, yet you gave it a whole little world of hunger, street chaos, crushed flowers, accidental kindness, music, and one wonderfully unforgiving review at the end. I especially enjoyed how the poem lets language be physical, with every wobble, sploosh, clonk, and flump doing something the reader can almost feel. Grateful for the playfulness and generosity you bring to a prompt that invites others into the fun.
Absolutely squishingly loved this Laura!
A thoroughly squidgy, plonking, shimmying wander through an imaginary - I should sprout- day in your perfectly flumping day!
😂😂😂. It was so much fun!! It was a wobbly, bouncy, jiggly good time! 🤩
Yep! Language and words should be fun Laura!
😂
😂 😂.
YES! I agree! 🤣👏
New Mexico Ghost‑Town
Out in the desert dusk, the sky doing its slow wobble,
a coyote lands with a dusty splat beside the old windmill.
The water tank gives a tired gurgle,
and a sun‑bleached sign dangles by one rusted nail.
A jackrabbit skitters past with a boing,
kicks a stone that clatters into a barrel cactus
with a soft thunk and a prickly squish.
The cactus, offended, lets out a sploosh of stored rainwater
that dribbles down its ribs like a drunk trying to waddle home.
A vulture drops from the sky with a dusty whomp,
landing so hard the sand gives a little flump.
He tries to look dignified, but his wings shimmy
and his neck does a sad little wiggle.
Farther off, the old pump house rustles
with the sound of something trying to fumble its way out.
A desert spirit, maybe...
one of those creatures made of heat shimmer and bad decisions.
It gives the door a thwack, then a bonk,
then a frustrated clonk that echoes across the flats.
A tumbleweed rolls by with a dry twiddle,
hits a fence post, and plunks to the ground.
The post answers with a metallic jangle,
as if it’s laughing at the whole scene.
The spirit finally squeezes free with a smoosh,
lands in the dirt with a flop,
and lets out a honk that startles even the moon.
It tries to stand, does a full‑body jiggle,
then a heroic sproing that launches it straight into a mesquite tree.
The tree shakes, quivers,
and drops a branch with a dusty thwip.
The spirit sighs, gives the night a final splurt,
and schleps off toward the horizon,
muttering something about needing a better entrance.
And the desert, patient as ever,
just watches it all ...
every bloop, clunk, tumble, and skitter ...
like it’s seen stranger things
and isn’t impressed.
*******
🌙🌵 What the desert elders would say:
“If the desert makes a funny noise, don’t correct it.
Just listen.
It’s telling you a story.”
“A place with no silly sounds is a place with no spirit.”
Steve
BRILLIANT!!! Loved this!! 😆
This is so fun to read, unrestrained yet structured, carrying a genuine thread of vulnerability through all the wobbling, splatting, and clunking. I love it! <3
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that! It means a lot! 🤗
You’re so welcome! Did you use all the words?
I think I used all but 4. It was hard to get them all in. How about you?
I think I squeezed them all in. All but 4 is super, I didn’t notice any missing. <3
THAT'S AMAZING!! WOW! It was such a fun challenge! :D
Yes, it was! Love that we both tackled it so gorgeously. <3
n the nest there is a wiggle jiggle
Mama duck is in a twiddle
Skitter over little one,
Fumble, tumble, clonk, whomp;
Over there little one.
There is such a skitter, twitter
Squidling ducklings in a tither
Mama duck makes up her mind
This jangle of tumble,
Makes me quiver,
They clonk and whomp
This nest is a dangle of bonk
let’s shimmy over to the pond
The ducklings flop but follow
Wobble, waddle, clunk,
The littlest one went bonk…
The fattest one went flump
they rustle, tumble from the nest,
Yet follow with a quivering shake.
Swim! must we learn today?
Yes, its time to begin! to swim...
Follow me, just plop right in…
The shivering five, do not want to dive!
Quiver, shiver, what a jiggle
We’ll stay back in squelchy muck
And watch afar we might sploosh or smoosh,
Widdle, Waddle, Squelch, Dribble and Puddle
Skitter around in a huddle
until they met the little frog Fuddle
Watch me, just bonce and boing,
dunk and gloak, its fun in to boak,
Splash and sploosh, you won’t smoosh
No need to fumble -- tumble on in
Widdle dangles her foot -- its bumble!!
She gives a gleeful gurgling glee
Sproing, she’s in, with a sploosh and splash
The others stare and drible from the shore
As they quake and thwack--squelch and shake
Gather your pluck their mother plakes,
We are made to rustle and hustle on the lake.
Splat, thunk, plunk, clunk,
That was the final dangle, they’re in!
Swimming on the pond, with a gaggle, giggle
Mama duck and their friend Fundle
Are ALL clatter that they found their dangle.
Prompt: Use as many of the following words in a piece.
splat, wobble, squelch, bounce, dangle, plop, gurgle, shimmy, bonk, thwack,
sploosh, twiddle, flump, jiggle, honk, boing, squish, bloop, clatter, whomp,
skitter, flop, thunk, wiggle, sproing, fumble, schlep, plunk, smoosh, clunk,
waddle, rustle, squidgy, dribble, tumble, thwip, splurt, clonk, jangle, quiver.
open to anyone to try.
This was a challenge put out by Mark Crutchfield. It wasn’t easy, but it was certainly fun!
________________________________________
In the nest there is a wiggle jiggle
Mama duck is in a twiddle
Skitter over little one,
Fumble, tumble, clonk, whomp;
Over there little one.
There is such a skitter, twitter
Squidling ducklings all in a tither
Mama duck makes up her mind
This jangle of tumble,
Makes me quiver,
They clonk and whomp
This nest is a dangle of bonk
let’s shimmy over to the pond
The ducklings flop but follow
Wobble, waddle, clunk,
The littlest one went bonk…
The fattest one went flump
they rustle, tumble from the nest,
Yet follow with a quivering shake.
Swim! must we learn today?
Yes, its time to begin!
Follow me, just plop right in…
The shivering five, do not want to dive!
Quiver, shiver, what a jiggle
We’ll stay back in squelchy muck
And watch afar before we sploosh or smoosh,
That was until they met the little green frog
Watch me, you just bonce and boing,
Splash and sploosh, you won’t smoosh
No need to fumble on the side
The first one dare; she dangles her foot,
She gives a gleeful gurgling glee
Sproing, she’s in, with a sploosh and splash
The others stare from the shore
As they quake and thwack
Gather your pluck their mother says,
We are made to rustle and hustle on the lake.
Splat, thunk, plunk, clunk,
That was the final dangle, they’re in!
Swimming on the pond, with a gaggle, giggle
Mama duck and their friend the frog
Are ALL thankful they found their dangle.
AWWWWWW!! This was such a great story! I felt like I watched the entire thing! ♥️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
This was fun! Here is my go at it:
The Day the World Went Boing
With a wobble, a wiggle, a merry shimmy,
The morning awoke feeling rather quite jimmy.
A leaf gave a rustle, the brook a gurgle,
While tadpoles danced in a watery circle.
A frog cried "Sploosh!" with a jubilant plop,
As raindrops refused to know when to stop.
The mud answered back with a loud squelch,
A glorious squish, a slippery smoosh,
No boots escaped that marshy belch.
The rabbit went boing,
The grass went sproing,
The birds sang songs
That the breezes joined.
The branches would bounce,
Then quiver and sway,
As sunshine laughed
At the start of the day.
A beetle would skitter,
A pebble clunk,
An old oak answered
With a sleepy thunk.
The scarecrow twiddled
His weathered hat,
Until a crow yelled,
"Imagine that!"
The goose gave a honk,
The woodpecker thwacked,
The acorns bonked
Every stump they attacked.
The kettle went bloop,
The cupboard clattered,
Though nothing at all
Really seemed to matter.
The baker would fumble
His floury spoon,
The pies took a tumble
Far too soon.
The pudding went flump,
The apples would jiggle,
While children could scarcely
Contain one more giggle.
The farmer would schlep
His cart through the lane,
Its wheels made a clonk
Again and again.
The buckets would dangle,
The harness would sway,
And somehow he'd smile
At the end of the day.
Then suddenly,
Splat!
A tomato flew.
Splurt!
Went the ketchup.
Everyone knew
The feast had begun,
Though nobody planned it;
Life simply happened
And everyone laughed it.
For sometimes the world
Needs no reason or plan.
It simply goes boing
As only it can.
With a wobble, a wiggle,
A squelch, and a song,
We discover that joy
Has been there all along.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 AMAZING!! I loved that so much!! I'm so glad you had fun with it!! ♥️
This is such a fantastic poem, Laura!! So fun to read - I loved it!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it! It was so fun to do! 😂
Laura, this has such a delightful sense of motion, as if the poem is tumbling forward on the sound of its own words. The challenge could have easily become a list of funny noises, yet you gave it a whole little world of hunger, street chaos, crushed flowers, accidental kindness, music, and one wonderfully unforgiving review at the end. I especially enjoyed how the poem lets language be physical, with every wobble, sploosh, clonk, and flump doing something the reader can almost feel. Grateful for the playfulness and generosity you bring to a prompt that invites others into the fun.
Thank you! That is so nice! I’m really glad you enjoyed it. 🤩