The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Monday, April 3, 2017

A Little Limerick, Anyone?

Claudia, with her recent post that includes a haiku, reminded me that April is Poetry Month. I'm not refined enough for haiku. Something edgy? Something that borders on offensive? That's more my style...

I love limericks. I especially love writing round-robin limericks. When a certain group of writer friends get together, we ask for extra cocktail napkins wherever we're dining, and each of us writes a first line of a limerick, and then we all pass in the same direction. Each person writes a line and then passes, until each napkin has a finished limerick to share with the group.

 What is a limerick? According to one source, "a limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first, second, and fifth lines must have seven to ten syllables while rhyming and having the same verbal rhythm. The third and fourth lines only have to have five to seven syllables, and have to rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm..."




Often, limericks have made-up words (or made-up endings to words) to adhere to the rhyme scheme. Once we were in an Italian restaurant and our waiter's name was Fabio. Our table cloth was made of paper. We ended up writing a limerick for our server on the tablecloth as part of his tip. It went something like this (and honestly, I only remember the first line and the fifth line rhymes,,,The rest is made up):

There once was a man named Fabio--
Who waited on us for his jobio.
He brought food so fast--
It made us aghast.
Later, we all felt quite flabbio.

Here's a better one:

There was a young belle of old Natchez
Whose garments were always in patchez.
When comments arose
On the state of her clothes,
She replied, "When Ah itchez, Ah scratchez."
—Ogden Nash


I'm tossing out a few first lines for limericks. You pick one, write the other 4 lines, and include it as your comment (if you'd care to). Or (probably better yet), ignore my suggestions. Come up with all 5 lines, and share with the rest of us.


  • Sweet Linda wrote and lived in the St. Lou
  • There once was a lucky gambler named Val 
  • There once was great baker named Lynn
  • There once was a sweet dog owner named Pat

Come on... It'll be loads of fun.




12 comments:

  1. There once was a blogger named Sioux,
    who wrote best when she sat in the loo.
    But then lines would get long
    People asking, "What's wrong?"
    But she'd smile and just blame you-know-who!

    (You thought I was going to use another word to rhyme with loo, didn't you? But I'm no potty mouth. :-) )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathy--But you ARE a potty mouth. After all, you used the word "loo." ;)

      Great limerick. Do you write these in your spare time?

      Delete
  2. I'll say one thing about being retired: it gives me time to do my homework.


    Sweet Linda wrote and lived in St. Lou,
    Taught Liam, Nicole, and Nicholas too
    That learning is fun,
    Clean up when you’re done,
    And stir up Chicken Soup with Sioux.


    There once was a great baker named Lynn,
    A real sweetie to those she’d befriend.
    Whether writing epistolary,
    Or baking coconut cream or cherry
    As delicious as the letters she’d penned.


    There once was a sweet dog owner named Pat
    To whom Val gives a doff of the hat.
    “I don’t know her well,
    But from what I can tell,
    Loving dogs makes her quite a cool cat.”


    There once was a lucky gambler named Val,
    Whose sister was not such a pal.
    “1-800-BETS-OFF for you!
    If it’s the last thing I do…
    Get you banned from casinos I shall!”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val--You ARE a natural when it comes to 1) humor in poetry form 2) perfect rhythm and 3) overachieving. Bravo!

      Delete
  3. Holy cow, Val is hereby crowned the Limerick Queen!

    Me? Well, I could sing the alphabet song if you'd like to hear it.

    Pat
    www.patwahler.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pat--Val IS quite the cut-up, along with being a natural when it comes to limericks.

      Delete
  4. I was going to give it a try
    I saw Val's and started to cry
    I cannot compete
    it's too great a feat
    and Sasquatch is my kind of guy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda--Thank goodness, 'cause if it wasn't for you, Sasquatch might have to roam--alone--in the woods.

      Delete
  5. There was a girl from Nantucket...

    ReplyDelete
  6. A science teacher named Val
    Writes limericks that are Wow!
    She blogs by the day
    Rubs scratchers for play
    She’s the winner to whom I bow

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Donna--I bow down to her, too, for those same reasons.

      Delete

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by...