Reader Participation Day: Rewrite a National Park Warning Sign

December 14, 2011
Haiku warning signs

New York City warning signs as haikus. Warning sign in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Traffic warning street signs written as haiku are appearing on poles around the five boroughs, posted by the New York City Department of Transportation. The idea is that new, thought-provoking signs will make people pay more attention to warning messages. See some examples.

If that's the case, what about all those warning signs in National Parks? Could you improve on them?

In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the following message is at every trailhead: No guns, no pets, no bikes.

Complex fishing regulations are around every stream.

In Rocky Mountain National Park, signs ask hikers to stay on the trail as to not damage alpine tundra. Another says Vehicles, weapons, pets & bicycles prohibited

Calling all poets and haiku writers!

Try to rewrite any of the above messages or choose your favorite (or least favorite, in this case) message and rewrite it in a haiku, limerick, or poem.

Please let us know what the original sign said, what park it came from, and your rendition of it.

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