Archive for March, 2011

Hoping For Humor (Sundry Verse)

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Today I’ve written four poems on a theme called hope. There’s a pair of quatrains, one haiku, and a limerick — something for everyone, or no one, as the case may be:

Hope springs eternal—
a “truism” some speak.
Yes, hope springs eternal,
until it springs a leak.

*****

Alexander Pope
wrote about hope.
His eternal quote
helps some folks cope.

*****

Showing up to vote—
a yearly exercise in
unrequited hope.

*****

A gal who is often caught moping
And is terribly dreadful at coping
Drives her family mad.
Things have gotten so bad,
That they’re hoping to hear she’s eloping.

*****

(Inspired by Haiku Wednesday’s hope prompt and Poets United quotation prompt. For more optimistic poems see Friday Poetically.)

Dearest Condescending Darling (Limerick)

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

This limerick was inspired by some patronizing, condescending comments made on a Facebook Friend’s wall:

Dearest Condescending Darling
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear sweetheart, the “darling” address
Condescends and is irksome unless
It’s said by a spouse
Or a lover, dear louse.
For most others, it means to aggress.

(Posted at I Saw Sunday.)

Limerick Odes To Charlie Sheen

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

After flunking (badly) The Guardian’s Who Said This — Gaddafi or Charlie Sheen quiz, I forced myself to watch ABC’s entire 20/20 Charlie Sheen interview conducted (I’m not sure how) by Andrea Canning. Yikes!

I’m no shrink, but if Sheen isn’t certifiable, I can’t imagine who is. Yet Sheen’s suing CBS and Warner Bros. for canceling Two and a Half Men. CBS and Warner Bros. should keep a copy on hand of ABC’s interview. Because that show gives CBS all the ammunition it needs to defeat Sheen’s case. We’re talking loony-tunes-uninsurable!

And so, Charlie Sheen has earned himself two “Dear Charlie” letter limericks. Here’s the first:

Dear Charlie, you’re acting bizarre.
We don’t need yet another sick star.
You appear on the brink
Of a breakdown, yet think
You’re not crazy, which proves that you are.

And here’s my second limerick:

Dear Charlie, you’re losing your sheen.
Once funny, you’re now turning mean.
It’s clear that you’re sick.
Get some help. Do it quick!
And stop wasting your comedy gene.

(You can find more letters at Write A Letter.)

Tastes and Sounds (Haiku and Tanka)

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Feverish hostess
serves chickpeas dropped on the floor—
a guest spills the beans.

*****

Sick party-goer
coughs and sneezes on buffet—
chilly reception.

*****

The corner bakeshop
seems a buttery temptress,
but smells can deceive.
Pastries seduce, disappoint—
buttery temptress no more.

*****

My first memory:
the sound and the vibration
of a freight train’s roar.
Budding logic says, “Can’t be.”
Sensed pre-birth within the womb?

*****

(My second haiku was inspired by Haiku Heights’ cold prompt. My first memory tanka was inspired by Free Write Fridays and Monday Memories.)

AWOL Angel

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

AWOL Angel (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I guess guardian angels are fine.
I don’t know, cuz I’ve never met mine.
If I have one, it’s hiding—
No guarding, no guiding.
What I’m missing, I can not divine.

(Written for the We Write Poems Guardian Angel prompt.)

UPDATE: August 22 is Be An Angel Day, and October 2 is Guardian Angels Day.