Archive for the ‘Anxiety & Stress’ Category
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
In late March I wrote some verse about our squirrel problem. More specifically, a squirrel that likes snoozing in my upstairs window sill under the AC.
As you can tell from my tanka and limerick, the brazen squirrel refused to be scared off. Sure, it would leave for a while. But just when I thought my squirrel was gone for good, there she was again in my window sill, kept outside only by a thin piece of plexiglass.
Well, guess who had babies:
Methinks it’s time for another squirrely limerick:
Squirrely Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A squirrel gave birth on my sill—
Near my window AC unit’s grill.
Each miniscule pup
(Five in all — two floors up)
Born an inch from my nose — chilling thrill.
Thanks to hubby Mark for snapping that photo.
UPDATE: Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day, January 21st!
Tags: Air Conditioning Humor, Animal Verse, House & Home, January Holidays, Odd Holidays, Squirrel Appreciation Day, Squirrel Humor, Squirrel Poem, Squirrel Reproduction, Vermin
Posted in Animal & Pet Humor, Anxiety & Stress, House & Home Humor, Limericks, Odd Holidays, Outdoors Humor | 16 Comments »
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
As I’ve mentioned before, I enjoy the challenge of writing acrostic limericks. But I found the latest acrostic limerick prompt from Acrostic Only to be tougher than usual. Here’s what I came up with:
One Headache of an Acrostic Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Pleasant dreams are quite hard to secure
On nights when you have to endure
Unspeakable noise:
Next door neighbors with boys,
Deaf’ning dogs, and the parents on tour.
Tags: Acrostic Poems, Animals Poetry, Badly Behaved Children, Child Humor, Dogs Verse, Headaches Humor, Insomnia Verse, Noise Humor, Noisy Neighbors, Pets Verse, Sleep Poetry
Posted in Acrostic Limericks, Animal & Pet Humor, Anxiety & Stress, Behavior & Personality, Children Humor, House & Home Humor, Limericks, Neighbors Humor, Sleep & Insomnia Humor | 25 Comments »
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
Nonplussed by Google-Plus?
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Is Google-Plus blessing or curse?
It’s surely inspired some verse.
But here’s what I fear:
With the Plus option here,
My A.D.D.’s getting much worse.
Tags: ADD Humor, Attention Deficit Humor, Attention Span Humor, Brain Humor, Concentration Limerick, Distractions, Google, GooglePlus, Health Limerick, Mental Health, Social Media Poetry, Social Networking Humor
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Behavior & Personality, Google, Health & Medical Humor, Health Verse, Limericks, Mental Health Humor, Social Media Humor | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
I don’t mean to bitch (okay, maybe I do) but it’s hot as hell here in New York. And weather forecasters are saying it will hit 100 degrees tomorrow.
But hey … there’s no global warming, right?
Heated Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
One-hundred degrees? I may swoon.
Yes, I’m singing a very hot tune.
And I’m down in the mouth
Cuz this isn’t the south,
But Bayside, New York — early June.
Tags: Bayside, Global Warming, Heat Advisory, New York City Verse, Seasonal Poems, Weather Humor
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Limericks, New York Limericks & Haiku, Seasons Humor, Weather Humor | 14 Comments »
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Why is this limerick untitled? Because Thursday Think Tank has prompted us to write an untitled poem. Writing without a title frees up our creative juices … at least that’s the theory:
Untitled Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
To title a verse can be hard —
A challenge for most ev’ry bard.
But a title-less work
Can drive me berserk.
It feels jarring and fake-avant-garde.
Tags: Avant-Garde, Creativity, Poets United, Thursday Think Tank, Title Humor, Writing & Publishing Humor
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Creativity Verse, Limericks, Writing & Publishing Humor | 12 Comments »
Monday, May 16th, 2011
I’m always looking for fun ways to jumpstart my muse. A new favorite is this Serendipitous Oxymoron writing prompt generator over at the Writing Fix. Just a couple of clicks can pair you up with an amusing or thought-provoking oxymoron. For instance, today it gave me “Tasty Tragedy,” which inspired this limerick:
Tasty Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The baker delivered his cake,
As the bride yelled, “I’ve made a mistake!”
She canceled her vows.
But that cake sure got wows,
As the wedding turned into a wake.
UPDATE: November 26th is National Cake Day.
Tags: Bakery, Baking Humor, Brides & Grooms, Cakes, Food Verse, National Cake Day, November Holidays, Odd Holidays, Oxymorons, Serendipity, Wedding Humor, Writing Fix, Writing Prompts
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Celebrations Poetry, Food & Drink Humor, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Odd Holidays, Oxymoron Humor | 10 Comments »
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Digital Impasse
By Madeleine Begun Kane
My brain is packed with secret codes
To access all my stuff,
Like bank accounts and sundry cards.
Recalling them is rough.
I pay my bills online and need
A PIN for each of those.
My website has a password too,
Protecting verse and prose.
These letters, numbers, symbols mix
In ways to stave off theft.
We’re warned to make them quite complex,
Defeating hackers deft.
We’re also cautioned, “Vary them.
Don’t make your codes the same.
A thief gets hold of only one —
You’re screwed and you’re to blame.”
So ciphers clutter up my mind.
I dare not write them down.
With paper bearing secrets dear,
A thief could go to town.
I’m forced to hide them in my brain —
A codified morass,
Despite my fear that one day soon
They’ll flee my mind en masse.
(Prompted by secrets at Poets United.)
Tags: Banking Humor, Bill Paying Poem, Brain Humor, Codes, Computer Humor, Computer Security, Cyber Crime, Hacker Humor, Memory, Online Humor, Passwords Humor, Privacy Humor, Secrets, Technology Verse, Theft
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Computer Humor, Crime & Punishment Humor, Internet Humor, Memory Humor, Privacy Satire, Technology Humor | 28 Comments »
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
I’ve never written an Acrostic poem before, let alone an Acrostic Limerick. But writing this was fun, in a mind-puzzle kind of way.
Now if I understand the basic acrostic rules, the first letter of each line must spell out whatever your poem is about. Acrostic Only has a lot more info and a generous assortment of acrostic prompts.
Wedded To Acrostics (Acrostic Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
“Enlarging our guest list again?
Let me see it,” said bride-to-be Gwen.
“Oh no! What a slew!
Pa, this simply won’t do!
Eloping tomorrow, at ten.”
*****
Author’s Note: I updated this post to change line five’s first word from “Eloping” to “Escaping.” Any thoughts on which one is better? I can’t decide. Thanks!
Update: Thanks to feedback here and on Facebook, I changed it back to “Eloping” and also got rid of the bold first letters. Thanks everyone!
Update 2: I’ve changed the title, so as to not give the game away.
Tags: Acrostic Only, Acrostic Poems, Brides & Grooms, Elopement Verse, Guest Lists, Marriage Humor, Parents, Wedding Limerick
Posted in Acrostic Limericks, Anxiety & Stress, Family & Relatives Humor, Family Verse, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Poetry Forms, Poetry Rules | 33 Comments »
Sunday, March 27th, 2011
Left brain or right brain —
Which am I? The one, I fear,
that can’t remember.
*****
Creative options
seem nearly unlimited —
overwhelmed, I freeze.
*****
(The 2nd haiku was prompted by Writer’s Island’s unlimited and Sunday Scribblings’ nearly.)
Tags: Brain Humor, Creativity, Haiku & Senryu, Left Brained, Memory, Mental Health Satire, Right Brained
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Creativity Verse, Haiku & Senryu, Memory Humor, Mental Health Humor | 15 Comments »
Friday, March 25th, 2011
Excited tourists
stop and stare, awed by Times Square —
forget they have feet.
*****
Sleepless, hollow eyes
gaze at legal opinions,
but see student loans.
*****
Windy documents
written to persuade judges —
endless legal briefs.
*****
Libraries, once hushed,
quiet playgrounds of the mind,
kept calm and silent
by strict ground rules, now drown thought
in playground cacophony.
*****
(Thanks for these four prompts: New York, hollow, paradox, and hush. Posted at Monday Memories.)
Update: April 21st is Thank You For Libraries Day.
Tags: April Holidays, Briefs Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Law Haiku, Legal Jargon, Legal Opinions, Legal Research, Legal Writing, Library Poetry, New York City Verse, Noise Humor, Odd Holidays, Paradoxes, Student Loans, Thank You For Libraries Day, Times Square
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Haiku & Senryu, Legal & Lawyer Humor, Money & Finance Humor, New York Limericks & Haiku, Odd Holidays | 26 Comments »
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
Unstuck (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Whenever I feel like I’m stuck —
Like I’m trapped in a rut or in muck,
I attempt something new.
(What else can you do?)
And sometimes that changes my luck.
(Inspired by Big Tent Poetry’s stuck prompt.)
Tags: Being In A Rut, Big Tent Poetry, Feeling Trapped Humor, Luck Limerick, Self-Help Humor, Self-Improvement
Posted in Advice Humor & Poems, Anxiety & Stress, Behavior & Personality, Limericks, Self-Help Humor | 32 Comments »
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.)
Tags: Alexander Pope, Aphorism Humor, Family & Relatives Humor, Funny Quotes, Hope, Moping, Optimism, Personality Verse, Quatrains, Truisms, Voting Haiku
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Aphorisms, Authors & Playwrights, Behavior & Personality, Family & Relatives Humor, Family Verse, Famous Quotes Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Limericks, Mental Health Humor, Public Figures, Quatrains Humor, Self-Help Humor, Social Satire | 35 Comments »
Thursday, February 24th, 2011
Dear Prattlers
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Dear prattlers, I beg you — stop talking.
If you don’t, I’ll escape. Watch — I’m walking.
I have pains in each joint,
As I wait for your point.
Oh my no! It’s insurance you’re hawking?
Update: June 28 is National Insurance Awareness Day.
Tags: Bores, Insurance Humor, June Holidays, Letter Poems, National Insurance Awareness Day, Odd Holidays, Prattle, Talkative, Theme Thursday, Write A Letter Wednesday
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Behavior & Personality, Communication Humor, Insurance Humor, Letter Limericks, Limericks, Odd Holidays | 11 Comments »
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
The task at hand over at Three Word Wednesday is to write a poem using these three words: Figure, Juicy, and Stress. I enjoyed the mental exercise and wrote this limerick:
If Only Life Were That Simple
By Madeleine Begun Kane
When I’m feeling a bit under stress
And I figure my life’s in a mess,
If I read something juicy
Or play some Debussy,
My problems are quick to egress.
Tags: Anxiety Humor, Debussy, Juicy Novels, Mental Health, Music, Simple Life, Stress Humor, Three Word Wednesday
Posted in Advice Humor & Poems, Anxiety & Stress, Behavior & Personality, Limericks, Mental Health Humor, Minimalist Humor, Poetry & Prompts | 10 Comments »
Friday, February 18th, 2011
Nervous newcomer
slips and falls onto deep snow.
Makes bad impression.
*****
Valiant croci
strain to push through snow’s surface.
All retreat but one.
*****
My tossed-aside snow
returns to the cleared sidewalk.
An icy revenge.
(The first haiku is for the Haiku Heights impression prompt and the second one is for I Saw Sunday.)
Tags: Clumsiness Humor, Crocus, Haiku & Senryu, Seasonal Verse, Snow Verse, Spring Harbinger, Weather Poetry, Winter Humor
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Haiku & Senryu, Outdoors Humor, Seasons Humor, Weather Humor | 7 Comments »
Friday, February 18th, 2011
Edgy Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
His cash flow had put him on edge,
And he needed a day to just veg.
He was stressed to the max
Over real estate tax,
And could not even fund his new hedge.
(Lots Of Laughter edge prompt)
Tags: Anxiety Humor, Cash Flow Humor, Gardening Humor, Hedge Funds, Home Limerick, Money Verse, Real Estate, Stress Humor, Tax Poetry
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, House & Home Humor, Money & Finance Humor, Real Estate Humor, Tax & IRS Satire | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
This week Big Tent Poetry prompts us to cheer ourselves up and cure whatever’s ailing us by writing poetry. I’m no cheerier than before, but at least I did write a relevant limerick … sort of:
Blue Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Our topic today feels perverse:
It’s curing our blues with some verse.
If I write something happy
It’s sure to be crappy.
And bad limericks make me feel worse.
Tags: Blues Limerick, Depression, Mental Health Satire, Poem Therapy, Therapeutic Writing, Writing & Publishing Humor
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Behavior & Personality, Creativity Verse, Limericks, Mental Health Humor, Poetry & Prompts, Writing & Publishing Humor | 26 Comments »
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
This week Big Tent Poetry provides a bunch of word prompts, urging us to use one or more in our poems. I used three of them in my haiku (remote, function, handle) and one in a limerick (remote.)
First, my limerick:
I’m tempted to hide the remote
From my spouse in a closet or coat,
Cuz he flicks ev’ry station
In rapid rotation.
Missing show after show gets my goat.
*****
And now my haiku:
Dysfunctional spouse
Wields remote ADD-style.
Wife can’t handle it.
Tags: ADD Haiku, ADD Humor, Battle of the Sexes, Husband Wife Limerick, Marriage Verse, Television Limerick, TV Humor, TV Remote
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Battle of the Sexes, Behavior & Personality, Entertainment Humor, Family & Relatives Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Media Humor, Obsessions Humor, Television (TV) Humor | 21 Comments »
Sunday, December 5th, 2010
Once again, it’s Limerick-Off time. I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:
A jittery fellow named Fred…
Here’s mine. (It’s a three-verse limerick, but a standard one-verse limerick is fine, of course.)
Jittery Limerick (Jittery Limerick Audio)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A jittery fellow named Fred
Had problems with sleeping in bed.
He could sleep on a chair
Or a stool — anywhere
But in bed, where things came to a head.
He was haunted in bed by his fears,
Whether sober or after some beers.
He would worry and fret—
Could not snooze on a bet.
And that’s how he lived for ten years.
But then podcasts came into his life.
(He’d heard about them from his wife.)
The discussions and talk
Made sad thoughts take a walk.
Now he slumbers in bed without strife.
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 in my Facebook Limerick-Off post.
To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please send me an email requesting the alerts. You’ll find my email address on the upper right sidebar, right above my photo. Thanks!
Tags: Anxiety Humor, Insomnia Humor, Mental Health, Podcasts, Poetry & Prompts, Sleep Poetry, Stress Humor, Writing Prompts
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Behavior & Personality, Health & Medical Humor, Health Verse, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limerick-Offs, Limericks, Mental Health Humor, Poetry & Prompts, Sleep & Insomnia Humor | 12 Comments »
