For Day 11 of National Poetry Month, my friend Kim Johnson invites teacher-poets to compose quirky poems for VerseLove at Ethical ELA: “We all do quirky, bold things that break the ice and bring us closer together. Think of a time that you’ve done something quirky – with friends, with family, with students or even complete strangers. Let’s share our quirky exchanges today and whatever emotions they bring – in whatever form of poetry we choose.”

I hardly have to think about this one…

Quirky Legacy

What goes around
comes around
particularly in 
prankster families
like mine

Once upon a time
my husband hid 
our oldest’s shoe

The boy (in his teens)
hunted high and low
demanding to know
(laughing)
where his dad hid it
because he knew 
exactly who
had done this 

Funny thing is,
my husband forgot
where he stashed
the shoe

Years later,
in the midst
of redecorating,
I moved
an antique pitcher
and discovered
the shoe inside

By that time,
the boy had achieved
retribution
many times over,
the most legendary
of his pranks
involving 
his dad’s cell phone
suspended in jello
(a Ziploc bag
didn’t help at all;
my husband hauled
the boy and
the ruined phone
to Verizon
for a replacement
while the clerks
tried but couldn’t keep
straight faces)

Years later
the boy 
(now a dad)
texts me
while I’m out shopping:
Mom, can you pick up
a copy of Prince Caspian?
He was reading 
the Narnia series
for the first time
and his daughter,
age six,
had hidden the book
from him
and couldn’t
remember where

What goes around
comes around
particularly in
prankster families
like mine