Archive for July, 2012

Limerick Ode To Olympic Beach Volleyball

Monday, July 30th, 2012

Limerick Ode To Olympic Beach Volleyball
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Watch those barely clad women play ball
On the beach, keeping viewers in thrall,
Gals hoping to volley
Olympic wins. Golly!
I’m surprised they wear clothing at all.

Flashy Limerick (Limerick-Off Monday)

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner.)

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A man who was known for his flash…*

or

A gal who was known for her flash…*

*(Minor variations to my first lines are acceptable, but rhyme words may not be altered.)

Here’s my limerick:

Flashy Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A man who was known for his flash
Wore only a violet sash.
He fell into a pool,
Soaked his blue-purple tulle—
Seems his outfit made rather a splash.

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

Limerick of the Week (72)

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

It’s time to announce the latest Limerick of the Week based on submissions (on this blog and on Facebook) in last week’s Limerick-Off.

Congratulations to Johanna Richmond, who wins Limerick of the Week for this funny verse:

A fellow who fell on his face
Would have undergone far less disgrace
‘Midst commuter-rush throng,
If his garter and thong
Hadn’t spilled from his attaché case.

Congratulations to Craig Dykstra, who wins this week’s Facebook Friends’ Choice Award for this limerick which received the most Facebook “likes.”

The graduate shielded his face
From the couple’s impassioned embrace.
As they sweated and thrusted
He said, quite disgusted,
“You win, Mom – I’ll get my own place.”

And congratulations to these Honorable Mention winners (in random order) Bob Dvorak, Jamie Hutchinson, Edmund Conti, Phyllis Sterling Smith a/k/a Granny Smith, and Kathy El-Assal. Here are their respective Honorable Mention limericks:

Bob Dvorak:

A woman once fell on her face
Getting dressed for the party apace.
Her troubles began
With a spritz from a can;
Not cologne, but emergency mace.

Jamie Hutchinson:

A camper who fell on his face
When a bear from his privy gave chase
Had two cheeks in the ground
And two—white and round—
Facing up at the stars out in space.

Edmund Conti:

A woman who fell on her face
Was too drunk to acknowledge disgrace.
“What’s a lady to do”
She asked of the crew
“To get her a drink in this place.”

Phyllis Sterling Smith a//k/a Granny Smith:

A model who fell on her face,
From a swing, was too angry for grace.
“Damn that Fragonard guy!
Well, he swung me too high
Just so HE could paint more bits of lace!”

Kathy El-Assal:

While flirting he fell on his face,
Using slapstick to pick up the pace.
The view from down under
Showed booty to plunder:
No thong! Just a black hole in space.

Congratulations again to all the winners for your wonderful limericks. And thanks to everyone for your fun submissions.

In the next couple of minutes I’ll be posting a new Limerick-Off, which gives you yet another opportunity to win Limerick Of The Week.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

Macaronic Music (Limerick)

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

This is my second attempt at macaronic verse — a poem that mixes two languages in a humorous manner. While Latin is often the second language, this macaronic limerick uses musical terms:

Macaronic Music
By Madeleine Begun Kane

If you fiddle around while I speak,
Then I’ll trumpet your lousy technique.
If you flaut me, beware!
Your bass secret will air —
Broken G string and all, horny freak!

(Poets United prompts us to writing something about sound.)

Mental Limerick

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Poets United has a fun vice-versa challenge this week: Use all four of these words in any type of poem: Allow, Deny, Harsh, & Gentle. Here’s what I came up with:

Mental Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A man who denied being “mental,”
Was at times rather harsh, sometimes gentle.
He had one sacred cow:
He would never allow
A critique of his units parental.

The Face Of Limericks (Limerick-Off Monday)

Sunday, July 22nd, 2012

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner.)

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A woman who fell on her face…*

or

A fellow who fell on his face…*

*(Minor variations to my first lines are acceptable, but rhyme words may not be altered.)

Here’s my limerick:

The Face Of Limericks
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A woman who fell on her face
When she tripped on her wedding gown lace,
Brought a lawsuit immense.
Here’s the gown shop’s defense:
“A trip down the aisle ain’t a race.”

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

Limerick of the Week (71)

Sunday, July 22nd, 2012

It’s time to announce the latest Limerick of the Week based on submissions (on this blog and on Facebook) in last week’s Limerick-Off.

Congratulations to Daniel Ari who wins Limerick of the Week for this funny verse:

A hooker was starting to rue
What she said to her John she would do.
“His kink’s not exciting.
He has me reciting
The writings of Albert Camus.”

Congratulations to Craig Dykstra who wins this week’s Facebook Friends’ Choice Award for this limerick which received the most Facebook “likes.”

A limericist started to rue
His endeavors the past week or two.
All that clever invention
Got nary a mention.
(Perhaps I should switch to haiku.)

And congratulations to these Honorable Mention winners (in random order) Sally Franz, Johanna Richmond, Bob Dvorak, Mike Dailey, Scott Crowder, Patrick McKeon, and Craig Dykstra. Here are their respective Honorable Mention limericks:

Sally Franz:

A woman was starting to rue
All the pounds she had gathered anew.
Seems she’d taken a cruise,
Grazed on chocolate and booze.
Now her scale read: one please, and not two.

Johanna Richmond:

Too many have gone on to rue
Delaying a trip to the loo.
Hear this, one and all:
When the urge comes to call
Piddle not; ‘taint a thing to poo poo!

Bob Dvorak:

A woman was starting to rue
That she’d told Bill the Builder, “I do.”
She found that male dolts
Comprehend nuts and bolts
But they don’t understand “gentle screw”.

Mike Dailey:

A critic was starting to rue
The play he was there to review.
The actors were nudist,
The language the crudest,
And his grandmother starred in it too.

Scott Crowder:

A fellow was starting to rue
His claims climate change is not true.
Now he feels like a jerk,
As he paddles to work
On what used to be I-92.

Patrick McKeon:

A woman was starting to rue
The shine that she put on her shoe.
With her skirt on in town
All the men would look down,
Enjoying the excellent view.

Craig Dykstra:

Un soir as I walked down la rue
A chat noir et blanc came in view.
I knelt down to pet it,
But soon I’d regret it.
Le chat? It was Pepé Le Pew!

Congratulations again to all the winners for your wonderful limericks. And thanks to everyone for your fun submissions.

In the next couple of minutes I’ll be posting a new Limerick-Off, which gives you yet another opportunity to win Limerick Of The Week.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

Haiku For National Junk Food Day

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

Happy National Junk Food Day — July 21st!

Today’s Junk Food Day.
One day? Chips on the table—
Way too limiting.

Rueful Limerick (Limerick-Off Monday)

Sunday, July 15th, 2012

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner.)

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A fellow was starting to rue…*

or

A woman was starting to rue…*

*(Minor variations to my first lines are acceptable, but rhyme words may not be altered.)

Here’s my limerick:

Rueful Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A fellow was starting to rue
His decision to holler his boo
At a Will Shakespeare play.
What ensued was a fray:
About nothing, he feared, much ado.

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

UPDATE: April 23 is Talk Like Shakespeare Day.

Limerick of the Week (70)

Sunday, July 15th, 2012

It’s time to announce the latest Limerick of the Week based on submissions (on this blog and on Facebook) in last week’s Limerick-Off.

Congratulations to Jane Shelton Hoffman who wins Limerick of the Week for this funny verse:

A parrot was proud of his skill.
He could learn any words you would drill.
But a problem occurred
When the man heard the bird
Say, “Come over when he’s at the mill.”

Congratulations to Robert Basler who wins this week’s Facebook Friends’ Choice Award for this limerick which received the most Facebook “likes.”

A fellow was proud of his skill
At signing his name with a quill.
Said his friend, Paul Revere,
“Put your John Hancock here!
“Make it large, we’ve got pages to fill!”

And congratulations to these Honorable Mention winners (in random order) VerseBender, Edmund Conti, Bryan Coughlan, and Johanna Richmond. Here are their respective Honorable Mention limericks:

Versebender:

A fellow was proud of his skill
Making moonshine inside of his still.
But his profits were few
In spite of his brew
‘Cause he’d swill every drop he’d distill.

Edmund Conti:

A fellow was proud of his skill
At giving his good wife a thrill.
Said she of his mountin’,
“I fear that your Fountain
Of Youth has gone over the hill.”

Bryan Coughlan:

A lawyer was proud of his skill,
Charged one pound of flesh for his bill.
That’s not just a saying.
His clients were paying.
So where there’s a weigh, there’s a will.

Johanna Richmond:

A fellow was proud of his skill
With the help of a little blue pill,
Till his paramour mumbled
A mouthful that humbled:
“It fills but the thrills, Will, are nil.”

Congratulations again to all the winners for your wonderful limericks. And thanks to everyone for your fun submissions.

In the next couple of minutes I’ll be posting a new Limerick-Off, which gives you yet another opportunity to win Limerick Of The Week.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

Limerick Ode To Bastille Day

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Limerick Ode To Bastille Day
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It’s Bastille Day, Quatorze Juillet,
A time of panache and cachet.
Un jour férié—
La raison: Liberté.
Mon Français clearly sucks. Bonne journée.

(Dverse Poets Pub prompts us to write about Bastille Day.)

My “Limerick Ode to a Kilt-Wearing Man” Won A Prize

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Here’s some cool news! I entered the 2012 Saline (MI) Celtic Festival Limerick Contest with my “Limerick Ode to a Kilt-Wearing Man.” Well it turns out that I won first prize in the Master Class (over 25) category.

I couldn’t attend the festival, but it sure sounds like a fun yearly event.

Here’s my winning limerick:

Limerick Ode to a Kilt-Wearing Man
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A man who was very well built,
Was naked except for his kilt.
He was flouting the regs,
As he flaunted his legs,
And willed certain parts not to wilt.

A Polite Limerick

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

The latest prompt from Three Words Wednesday asks us to use these three words in any sort of poem: Differ, Halt, and Imagine. And somehow I coaxed them all into a limerick:

A Polite Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

When planning a verbal assault,
It can sometimes be useful to halt
And imagine your view
With a more polite skew:
Beg to differ‘s a handy default.

Gunning For Father Of The Year? (Limerick)

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

Taking your baby son with you when visiting a hooker is probably unwise:

A man in Tuscaloosa may be charged with child endangerment after taking along his nine month old son during a meeting with a prostitute.

Once inside the motel room, another man entered and a fight broke out. Shots were fired while the baby was in the room, and a bullet grazed the father’s head.

Gunning For Father Of The Year?
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear dads, if your kid’s under one,
And you’re looking for prostitute fun,
A sitter’s a must;
Else forget about lust,
Or be labeled a son of a gun.

Happy National Clerihew Day! (July 10)

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

I just found out that today (July 10) is National Clerihew Day. What the heck’s a clerihew? It’s a “whimsical, four-line biographical poem invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley.”

More specifically, clerihews are four-lines long with an A-A-B-B rhyme scheme and irregular meter. The first line names a person — the subject of the poem.

Here are a couple I’ve written about writers:

Edgar Allen Poe
A writerly bro
Who’s famed for the Raven.
What a scary poem maven!

*****

The author George Orwell
We ought not ignore well;
His writings polemic
Ain’t at all academic.

*****

And here are two about actresses:

Bette Davis
Film joy gave us.
Seduced gals and guys
With Bette Davis Eyes.

*****

Mae West
For life had zest.
Stoked gals and blokes
With “evil” jokes.

*****

(You can find my political clerihews here.)

Happy birthday to George Orwell, born June 25, 1903.

Limerick Skill (Limerick-Off Monday)

Sunday, July 8th, 2012

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner.)

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A fellow was proud of his skill…*

or

A woman was proud of her skill…*

*(Minor variations to my first lines are acceptable, but rhyme words may not be altered.)

Here’s my limerick:

Limerick Skill
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A fellow was proud of his skill
In drafting the hand-crafted will:
“I’ve perfected this science,”
He’d brag, but his clients
Took ill at the sight of his bill.

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

Limerick of the Week (69)

Saturday, July 7th, 2012

It’s time to announce the latest Limerick of the Week based on submissions (on this blog and on Facebook) in last week’s Limerick-Off.

Congratulations to Nan Reiner a/k/a Kitty Ditty who wins Limerick of the Week for this funny verse:

A moody young deb with a ‘tude
Found regattas could lighten her mood:
“Strokes and coxswains galore –
Each will put in his oar –
One can be so deliciously crewed!”

Congratulations to Kathy El-Assal who wins this week’s Facebook Friends’ Choice Award for this limerick which received the most Facebook “likes.”

A prudish young woman with ‘tude
Almost never was in the right mood.
Finding headaches passé
Her excuse was to say
“Doggie-style, when not yoga, is lewd.”

And congratulations to these Honorable Mention winners (in random order) Jamie Hutchinson, Marla Turner, VerseBender, Nan Reiner a/k/a Kitty Ditty, Edmund Conti, Jason Talbott, and Jane Auerbach. Here are their respective Honorable Mention limericks:

Jamie Hutchinson:

The sexy librarian’s ‘tude
Had a way of improving your mood:
You’d hand her a book
And receive such a look
That you felt both checked out and renewed.

Marla Turner a/k/a Uhave2laff:

A moody young woman with ‘tude
Had a curfew she really eschewed.
Her mother said, “Ten!”
She laughed and said, “Men?”
Then sat back as her mom came unglued.

Versebender:

A moody young woman with ‘tude
Would string along dude after dude.
She’d flirt and she’d tease
As if eager to please.
But the lady stayed coyly unscrewed.

Nan Reiner a/k/a Kitty Ditty:

A moody young woman with ‘tude,
In line for the john, ballyhooed,
“Yo there, bride and your groom:
Get yourselves a real room.
There are others who want to be loo’d.”

Edmund Conti:

An earnest young poet with ‘tude
Said, I know I’m about to be screwed
For posting so late
On Madeleine’s slate.
My poem won’t be liked or be viewed.

Jason Talbott:

A moody young fellow with ‘tude
Once complained that he hated the food
Which was served at his school.
But the lunch lady’s rule:
You complain, you’ll be one hungry dude.

Jane Auerbach:

A moody male model with ‘tude
Was chagrined when the audience booed.
On a catwalk he’d tripped,
And his pants front had ripped,
Shredding padding on parts best unviewed.

Congratulations again to all the winners for your wonderful limericks. And thanks to everyone for your fun submissions.

In the next couple of minutes I’ll be posting a new Limerick-Off, which gives you yet another opportunity to win Limerick Of The Week.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

Looped (Limerick Using the “Loop” Form)

Friday, July 6th, 2012

This week Poetic Bloomings introduces us to a new (to me) form: the “loop.” While the form has several variations, the essential requirement is:

In each stanza, the last word of the first line becomes the first word of line two. The last word of line 2 becomes the first word of line 3. The last word of line 3 becomes the first word of line 4.

While limericks aren’t mentioned as an option, I decided to try a “limerick loop.” Here’s what happened:

Looped (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

This poetry form leaves me looped.
Looped’s the least of my problems. I’m pooped:
Pooped at trying to write.
Writing’s often a fight.
Fight I must, or with slackers be grouped.

Happy Birthday, Calvin Coolidge! (Limerick)

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012

Happy Birthday to President John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. (July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933)

Limerick Ode To Calvin Coolidge
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Calvin Coolidge — a man of few words:
He thought garrulousness for the birds.
But the ones that he spoke
Were quite pointed. No joke!
If just two words would do, then no thirds.

Limerick ‘Tude (Limerick-Off Monday)

Sunday, July 1st, 2012

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner.)

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A moody young woman with ‘tude…*

or

A moody young fellow with ‘tude…*

*(Minor variations to my first lines are acceptable, but rhyme words may not be altered.)

Here’s my limerick:

Limerick ‘Tude
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A moody young model with ‘tude
Got involved with a dangerous dude.
He shot her undressed
And later confessed:
“Her depression kept killing the mood.”

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!