Celebrate Limerick Day (and Edward Lear) With A Limerick — Updated with 2nd Limerick
Mother’s Day isn’t this week’s only important holiday. What else is there? International Limerick Day, of course, which celebrates the May 12th birthday of Edward Lear. After all, nobody’s done more than Edward Lear to popularize the limerick.
I’ve written a limerick two limericks to celebrate Lear and National Limerick Day, and I hope you’ll write one too:
Limerick Ode To Edward Lear
By Madeleine Begun Kane
It’s Limerick Day — did you hear —
On May 12th for the birth of Ed Lear.
In his honor that day
Rhyme A-A-B-B-A.
And thank him for spreading good cheer.
Update: I’ve written Edward Lear a 2nd limerick:
Edward Lear was a poet quite witty,
Who wrote verse rather brief, even bitty.
His birthday’s 12 May,
So we treasure that day
In thanks for the limerick ditty.
(Note: I’m also celebrating National Limerick Day on Facebook too.)
Tags: Edward Lear, Holiday Poetry, May Holidays, National Limerick Day, Poetry & Prompts, Writing Limericks, Writing Prompts
To celebrate the limerick is okay
But the holiday wasn’t today!
It wasn’t great timing
But I started in rhyming
And here’s my first try–what d’ya say?
(Just jumped in before reading all instructions–or your limerick! My bad!)
Rob, I’m with you — it should be every day. An Veralyn, you’re not “bad” at all. Glad you jumped in.
I enjoyed your instructive, commemorative verses, Mad. Here’s my offering:
There once was a fellow named Lear
Both witty and smart, t’would appear
From his lim’ricks many
Profane or just funny;
His sense of the absurd we hold dear.
Edward Lear, although first, I find lame.
His lines one and five? Often the same.
In his day it was fine
Now there’s better (some mine!)
O-E-D-I-L-F wins this game.
There was a young lim’rck named Limmy
He thought it was better than Icky
Which was quite a shame
For what’s in a name?
He really was awfully picky
Thanks, Joyce. And Lisa, I sure agree with you about OEDILF. Great organization! I should really starting being active there again … one of these days. :)
I fear that Dear old Mr. Ed Lear
Was very certain that limericks tear
The muscles of the stomach
Badly tickled, they are racked
And then made to shake with laughter, it is clear!
Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear
It’s almost the birthday of Mr. Lear
I’m caught short-handed
For here I’m stranded
At my closet with nothing to wear.
Limerick Day
A limerick is a poetry trick
That smoothly drops a brick
On the reader’s head
With things rather not said
And then whacks the buttocks with a stick!
We have Ogden Nash whose poetry
Was funny, that we can always see
But the cake
Was his to take
When he said “The puma had no sense of huma”! Gee!
I would like to add, that no limerick
Is complete unless it makes one (sic)
Upbeat that he or she
Would quietly
Become cranky and hit the poet’s belly with a stick!
Like this…
A sophisticated maid from Delhi
You must have heard this, really
One who would fold herself,
And roll into the kitchen shelf
But the credit goes to her garlic mouth and gassing horribly!
Celebrate Limerick Day- On 12 May 2010
You are all clever writers,
funny and creative fighters!
The help desk is physically in Mumbai
A place once simply called “Bombay.”
The hell does it matter,
Former or latter,
Before its fixed, I’ll surly be gray.
There once was a poet from Milwaukee
Whose rhymes were decidedly talky
So she moved to Chicago
And found nothing rhymed there, either.
From “Days of Dante” http://www.key-light.org/dante1.html
The limerick started with Lear,
Who could tell us, if he were still here,
That the soul of good wit
Is to carefully fit
In five lines all one needs to make clear.