The Mischief Cafe

There is mischief afoot.

No, Watson, the game’s afoot.

The Mischief Café has opened its doors,

poetry at home with toast,

buttered (not artisan), & tea, although

some insist upon coffee, grounds

for litigation by the tea crowd. Just so.

It is a book, you see, a book

of poems, and dreams,

of poems, and screams

of delights, oohs and ahs,

and prompts and pages

blank with expectancy

waiting to be filled and poured.

The Mischief Café’s a traveling café,

a minstrel show, a lyceum,

bawdy vaudeville, a hermit’s retreat,

a Facebook post, an introvert’s tweet,

filled with blank pages, a journal,

because all poetry begins, or hesitates,

upon blank pages, and dreams.

There is mischief afoot.

No, Watson, the game’s afoot.

No, Holmes, my ruler’s a foot.

So, if you wondering what this is all about, L.L. Barkat has published The Mischief Café, which is a book of poems and prompts with blank pages, inviting you to write your poems, and create some mischief. Three of my own poems are included, among many others.

It is a strange thing to see one’s own poems published in a collection. I first had to ask myself if I really wrote them, and the answer is yes, I did; I even remember when I did. And the second thing I asked myself is why am I feeling so mischievous? The poem above is the result. 

If you’re feeling mischievous, The Mischief Café is a good way to start.