Contest | Poetry | Limerick (March 2007)

[Icarus]

This month we'd like to tip our hats in honor of St. Patrick's Day and the Irish by asking you to write limericks, which seem to be permanently associated with Ireland. (Your limerick may but does not have to have an Irish theme.)

Don't know what a limerick is? Fear not.

Originally Posted by shadowpoetry.com

A Limerick is a rhymed humorous or nonsense poem of five lines which originated in Limerick, Ireland.

The Limerick has a set rhyme scheme of : a-a-b-b-a with a syllable structure of: 9-9-6-6-9.

The rhythm of the poem should go as follows:

Lines 1, 2, 5: weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak
Lines 3, 4: weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak

This is the most commonly heard first line of a limerick: "There once was a man from Nantucket."

Example #1:
The Test Pilot

A Plane builder needed a pilot,
So Bob told the guy, he would try it.
When Bob took to the air,
Plane parts fell everywhere.
Bob radioed “where shall I pile it?”

Copyright © 2005 Jim Dupy


Example #2:
The Man From Aruba

There once was a man from Aruba,
Whose favorite hobby was scuba.
Every day he would wish,
He could spear a big fish.
But settled instead for canned tuna.

Copyright © 2005 Jim Dupy

Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. on March 24th.

Good luck!

[BreezyWriter]

The lady and The Bed Man

All her life she thought; but of cooking
Greet the bread man, she thought was something
Her thoughts were on him when
At home she said to them
She saw a great bed man that morning!

Roars of laughter made her retreat; rosy-cheeked Though the teasing kept on for weeks.

[Toyzrock]

I once had a puppy named Lumpy
Who loved to get up on her monkey
Though the act was obscene
She ruptured her spleen
Now everyone knows her as Pumpy

[josiehenley]

There was a young woman from Vickers,
Who ordered a new pair of Kickers.
She paid for a parcel
But regretted the hassle
When the box revealed three frilly knickers.

[mad]HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA[/mad]

[_zeb_]

happy man and dog

There once was a man from Manhattan
That had a dog called latten
It always stank
And farted all day
Just to keep the relatives at bay

[riverstone]

Limericks can very in their meter though - is your contest by the strict structure you cite below or not?
Kit

[riverstone]

In a paddock out on the Southdowns,
a gal tended the sheep with a frown.
She discovered her soul
when she heard rock n’ roll ─
she plays drums at the pub now, in town.

[stephen wilkins]

I like your poems. They are simple, direct and refreshing.