Balked
A Thursday Prompt poem
© 2026 by Walter Reimer
Le Minque is ©  EOCostello


Excerpted from The Saga of the Bearded Indefinite


“Le Minque! Le Minque!” the policefurs cry,
“He steals bog roll, and we don’t know why!
What evil and ungood scheme can he have,
To deny good furs the sanctity of their lav?”

For many a day the mink has been robbing,
Stealing bog roll, and leaving furs sobbing;
From the high and the lowborn he steals with verve,
Even from Pharoah’s graves – he’s got some nerve!

But now Le Minque reads the newspapers
And he widely grins, planning new capers;
Off to Copenhagen he goes to carry out his scheme;
Stealing bog roll from the King is his latest dream.

In the darkest night, with no trace of moon,
While sleepers sleep and lovers spoon,
Le Minque slips into a high attic room
And stops – his expression one of gloom.

As all furs do, Le Minque goes unshod;
His feet good for roads, or running over sod;
But there was one thing in which he didn’t take stock,
And that was clever Danes who invented the Lego block.

From the door
Across the floor
But I shan’t bore
And keep you more
Bricks in store
Promising sore
Yelps galore

Balked and angry, Le Minque withdraws,
But it must be said not without cause
For those infernal blocks are hell on paws
Even for minks who flout criminal laws.