Sometimes a pun or joke pops into my head, and I think that it might be fun to make that pun or joke the punch line at the end of a poem. The problem is getting to that punch line.
For example, I was soaking in the tub and reading an old issue of National Geographic magazine. There was a big article about wolves, and I started thinking about wolves and water. Then I thought of a pun about a wolf and knew that it would be a perfect (and completely unexpected) way to end a poem. Now all I had to do was figure out how to get to that punch line.
At first I thought I’d write a poem about a wolf taking a bath, so I tinkered with that idea for a little while, but I couldn’t seem to make it work. Then I made a list of things about wolves that might lead to that pun…it still didn’t work. Finally I had an inspiration. Instead of having the wolf take a bath, I would have that wolf do its laundry. The poem worked perfectly. It’s called “A Wolf Is at the Laundromat.”
A Wolf Is at the Laundromat
A wolf is at the Laundromat,
it’s not a wary stare-wolf,
it’s short and fat, it tips its hat,
unlike a scary glare-wolf.
It combs its hair, it clips its toes,
it is a fairly rare wolf,
that’s only there to clean its clothes—
it is a wash-and-wear wolf.