Epiphany (Tanka)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
My muse teases me,
Awaiting epiphanies
That never arrive.
So I must go it alone,
Writing until I’m amused.
(Note: Tanka is five line Japanese poetry which pre-dates haiku and whose syllabic form is 5-7-5-7-7. I usually think of it as haiku plus two more 7 syllable lines. My Epiphany Tanka was inspired by the Writers Island epiphany prompt.)
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.
One of my limerick-writing pals has challenged me to hold a Double-Dactyl-Off. My initial response was “What the hell’s a double dactyl?”
So I Googled it, read the rules, and attempted to write a couple of them myself. I’ll try to summarize the rules here and will provide links to some good resources and samples. (Don’t worry if you find the rules confusing. Once you read a couple of examples, they make more sense.)
1) A double dactyl is a two stanza (eight line) humorous poem consisting mostly of dactyls. What’s a dactyl? A dactyl has three syllables, one stressed followed by two unstressed (/ _ _ ).
2) Line 1 is a nonsense phrase consisting of two dactyls (like Higgeldy Piggeldy or Dickery Dockery or Flippity Flappity.)
3) Line 2 is the name of a famous person (usually historic) but must be a double dactyl (like Emily Dickinson or Joseph DiMaggio or Hans Christian Andersen.)
4) Lines 4 and 8 must rhyme.
5) Somewhere in the second stanza there’s is a double dactyl formed by a single word (like megalomaniac or gubernatorial or idiosyncrasy.)
Here’s the form which I borrowed from Miss Rumphius.
1 – double dactyl nonsense phrase (like Higgeldy Piggeldy)
2 – double dactyl of a person’s name
3 – double dactyl
4 – one dactyl plus a stressed syllable (/ _ _ / )
5 – double dactyl
6 – double dactyl
7 – double dactyl
8 – one dactyl plus a stressed syllable (/ _ _ / )
(Wikipedia provides the rules and examples.)
Here are my first two attempts. (I invite you to post your own in my comments.)
Higgledy Piggledy
Ludwig van Beethoven
Wrote the Eroica,
Sadly went deaf.
Incontrovertibly
Gifted and masterful.
Some say he’s better than
Brahms. Need a ref.
*****
Rickety Rackety
David A. Paterson
Got to be gov cuz boss
Spitzer resigned.
Patterson governed us
Counter-productively.
Sure’s been a while since a
Governor’s shined.
I’m looking forward to your double dactyls. Have fun! And if you’re on Facebook, please post your double dactyls here on Facebook too.
Congratulations to all the Washington Post Style Invitational limerick contest winners! (This is the contest I mentioned previously, where B-rhyme lines were provided.)
No, I didn’t win anything or earn an honorable mention. But I did write a limerick about losing:
A Loser Of A Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A contest was held by the Post,
But alas I’m unable to boast.
I submitted some verse —
Did not win, but won’t curse,
Though it seems that my entries are toast.
(Here’s my post about a previous WP Style Invitational limerick contest, where I managed to score an honorable mention.)
It’s time for another Limerick-Off. I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:
A naked young woman named May…
Here’s mine:
Naked Verse
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A naked young woman named May
Posed for art classes nude ev’ry day.
She enjoyed being sketched
And liked sculpture, but kvetched
Herself hoarse posing naked on hay.
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!
Needless to say, I wrote this limerick while running around doing sundry chores:
What A Drag!
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A woman who’s dragging a cart
Has some errands to run. Where to start?
The cleaners and grocer —
Too bad they’re not closer.
How she longs to stay home and make art.
The Washington Post runs a yearly limerick writing competition as part of its Style Invitational and has just announced this year’s winners. No, I didn’t win, but I was pleased to receive an Honorable Mention.
If you’d like to read some clever, well-written limericks, I recommend reading the winning limericks.
And now, a limerick about writing limericks:
An Ode To The Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Writing lim’ricks is sometimes confusing
Cuz the rules can be tricky and bruising.
But their sing-songy beat
Can be fun — just don’t cheat.
Write them right and they’re very amusing.
I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:
A creative young woman named Ro…
Here’s mine:
Creative Verse
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A creative young woman named Ro
Snagged a role in an Off-Broadway show.
She could sing, dance, write verse,
Paint and bake, but her curse
Was she never could raise any dough.
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 Limerick-Offs.
Mad Kane (Madeleine Begun Kane) is a writer, musician, and "recovering lawyer." She won the Robert Benchley Society Award For Humor and enjoys writing limericks, song parodies, and current events haiku.
You can email her at madkane@madkane.com, visit her political humor blog, or stop by her home page.
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