Archive for the ‘Haiku & Senryu’ Category
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008
Three haiku to “celebrate” an unseasonably cold first day of spring:
Calendar says spring,
But the weather disagrees.
Hope they work it out.
New York guys and gals
Greet springtime in their shirtsleeves
While winter mocks them.
Spring shyly appears,
Taps winter on the shoulder,
Vows to try again.
(Inspired by One Single Impression’s spring prompt. And speaking of prompts, there’s still plenty of time to participate in my latest poetry prompt. How do you participate? Just write a haiku or limerick about poetry or writing and use Mr. Linky to post your themed link.)
Tags: March Holidays, New York City Verse, Seasonal Poems, Seasons, Spring Haiku, Weather Poem, Writing Prompts
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, New York Limericks & Haiku, Outdoors Humor, Poetry & Prompts, Seasons Humor, Weather Humor | 19 Comments »
Friday, March 21st, 2008
Today’s limerick and haiku theme is poems about poems or, if you prefer, poems about writing. First, my limerick about writing haiku:
Ode To The Haiku
By Madeleine Begun Kane
It’s seventeen-syllable verse —
Maybe less — yes it has to be terse.
What a challenge to do —
This form called haiku,
Whose brevity’s blessing and curse.
And here’s a pair of haiku about poetry, the first about writing limericks, the second about poetry writing in general:
Anapestic twists,
AABBA rhyme scheme.
Add wit and you’re home.
Ideas, thoughts, fragments
Of inspiration surge forth.
Poetry is born.
Now, of course, it’s your turn. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a limerick or haiku (or both) about poetry and/or writing in general. When you’ve posted your verse, please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry.
(If you need some tips on limerick or haiku writing, I link to some helpful sites here.)
Tags: Poetry Poems, Writing Haiku, Writing Limericks, Writing Prompts
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Poetry & Prompts, Writing & Publishing Humor | 6 Comments »
Sunday, March 16th, 2008
I’m celebrating the circle today with two haiku:
Running in circles.
Running rings around others.
Squarely opposite?
Communicating
Through circular reasoning.
Squaring the circle.
UPDATE: November 2nd is “Look For Circles Day.”
Tags: Circles Humor, Circular Reasoning, Going In Circles, Look For Circles Day, National Look For Circles Day, November Holidays, Odd Holidays, Square the circle, Writing Prompts
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Odd Holidays, Poetry & Prompts | 15 Comments »
Friday, March 7th, 2008
Rising-star raves,
Hype, sticks and stones, has-been whispers:
Celebrity press.
(This haiku was prompted by sticks and stones and rising. And speaking of prompts, I just posted a new limerick and haiku prompt. Its theme is age and/or life stages.)
Tags: Celebrities, Media, Press Humor, Writing Prompts
Posted in Celebrity Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Media Humor, Poetry & Prompts | 7 Comments »
Friday, February 29th, 2008
Today’s limerick and haiku theme is walking. First, my limerick:
Ode To A New York City Walk Signal
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Oh WALK light, you change way too fast.
Your pedestrian green doesn’t last.
You force me to run
Cross the street, which ain’t fun.
So thanks for this cumbersome cast.
And now, my walking-related haiku:
Solitary stroll
To escape the telephone.
Cell phone outsmarts me.
Now, of course, it’s your turn. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a limerick or haiku (or both) about walking. When you’ve posted your verse, please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry.
(If you need some tips on limerick or haiku writing, I link to some helpful sites here.)
NOTE: My Ode To A New York City Walk Signal limerick is an apostrophe. And no, I’m not referring to a punctuation mark. Miss Rumphius tells us that an “apostrophe is a poem which directly addresses a person or thing that is generally absent.” So I thought I’d address one to a walk signal that’s tormented my husband and me for years.
Tags: Apostrophe, Cell Phones, Pedestrians, Poetry & Prompts, Poetry Forms, Solitude, Traffic Lights, Traffic Signals, Walking Humor
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Outdoors Humor, Poetry & Prompts, Poetry Forms, Telephone Humor, Walking Humor | 12 Comments »
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008
Wind gust assaults me
As I hurry home on foot.
Weatherman blew it.
(Inspired by this weather related poetry prompt, over at Read Write. And speaking of prompts, I’ve posted a new prompt whose theme is time. I hope you’ll give it a try.)
Tags: Wind, Creative Prompts, Walking Poetry, Weather Forecast
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Walking Humor, Weather Humor, Wordplay | 14 Comments »
Friday, February 15th, 2008
Those imagined slights:
Often more insidious
Than the real ones.
An imagined slight,
Paranoiac reaction—
His girlfriend no more.
(Written in response to 3 Word Wednesday’s Prompt — “Girlfriend, Imagined, Slight.” I prefer the first one, even though it’s missing one of the three words.)
And speaking of prompts, I hope you’ll give my haiku and limerick prompt a try.
Tags: Imagined Slights, Writing Prompts
Posted in Behavior & Personality, Haiku & Senryu, Poetry & Prompts | 4 Comments »
Friday, February 15th, 2008
Today’s limerick and haiku theme is bad jobs. Why? Because everyone I know has had at least one really awful job. As for me, I’ve had more bad jobs than I’d care to remember. So here’s a pair of poems about two of them. First, my limerick about substitute teaching:
In my twenties I substitute taught.
‘Tis a challenging job and it’s fraught;
All those calls before dawn
To instruct devil’s spawn
Made me anxious, uptight—overwrought.
And now, my haiku about working in a discount department store:
Discount lingerie:
Folded, painstakingly shelved.
Soon to be litter.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a limerick or haiku (or both) about bad jobs. When you’ve posted your verse, please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry.
Tags: Bad Jobs, Department Store, Discount Lingerie, Education Limerick, Employment Humor, Job Limerick, School Humor, Shoppers, Substitute Teaching
Posted in Children Humor, Education & School Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Shopping Humor, Workplace & Career Humor | 13 Comments »
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Before I get to today’s limerick and haiku theme, I want to thank you for the many kind comments and emails concerning my father’s death. I was very touched by your thoughtfulness.
My latest limerick and haiku prompt topic is absent-mindedness and memory. First, my limerick:
“Please help me! I really need aid,”
Said a lady who looked quite afraid.
“Seems I can’t find my purse,
And, perhaps, even worse
It appears that my maid’s been mislaid.”
And now, my haiku:
Memorized data—
Still there, but hard to access.
Mulltiple choice brain.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a limerick or haiku (or both) about absent-mindedness and/or memory. When you’ve posted your verse, please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry.
If you want to keep up to date with my poetry prompts, you can subscribe to either my entire blog feed or just to my limerick and haiku prompt topic feed.
Tags: Absent-Minded, Behavior Humor, Brain Humor, Memory Limerick, Personality Humor
Posted in Behavior & Personality, Haiku & Senryu, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Memory Humor, Mental Health Humor | 8 Comments »
Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Today’s limerick and haiku theme is decisions and indecision. First, my limerick:
If there’s one thing I cannot abide,
It is people who cannot decide
What to eat, where to go,
Hot or cold, fast or slow.
Do you think I should take it in stride?
And now, my haiku:
Postponing decisions
Eliminates your options:
Fate accompli.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a limerick or haiku (or both) about decisions or indecision. When you’ve posted your verse, please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry.
(If you need some tips on limerick or haiku writing, I link to some helpful sites here.)
NOTE: Thanks to the few of you who have been joining in on the limerick and haiku prompt fun. But I’m beginning to wonder if it makes sense to continue these prompts, with so few people participating.
I’m not sure what the problem is. Lack of publicity? The themes? The difficulty in writing limericks? If anyone has any suggestions as to how to widen the appeal of these prompts, I’d appreciate your posting them in the comments section. Thanks!
UPDATE: Although I usually post prompts every Friday, my current prompt will remain open until February 1st because I’ll be traveling.
If you want to keep up to date with my poetry prompts, you can subscribe to either my entire blog feed or just to my limerick and haiku prompt topic feed.
Tags: Behavior Haiku, Decision Humor, Indecisiveness Limerick, Personality Satire
Posted in Behavior & Personality, Haiku & Senryu, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Mental Health Humor | 6 Comments »
Saturday, January 12th, 2008
Trash Day
By Madeleine Begun Kane
On trash day I set a tv
On the curb and before I could flee,
A neighborhood jerk
Yelled, “How well does it work?”
Guess he wanted a signed guaranty.
Streets lined with garbage:
Discarded chairs, broken lamps.
Scavengers’ treasure.
(Prompted by Easy Street’s To the Curb and Writer’s Island Treasure.)
Tags: Annoying Neighbors, Trash Poems, Garbage Humor, Sanitation Verse, Scavenger Verse
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Limericks, Neighbors Humor, Outdoors Humor, Poetry & Prompts, Television (TV) Humor | 22 Comments »
Friday, January 11th, 2008
Today’s limerick and haiku theme is money. First, my limerick:
I once balanced my checkbook with ease.
But, alas, it’s no longer a breeze.
Where is each canceled check?
Banking statements are dreck.
Are they trying to hide all those fees?
And now my haiku:
“People want change,”
Claim presidential candidates.
I’d prefer twenties.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a limerick or haiku (or both) about money. When you’ve posted your verse, please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry.
(If you need some tips on limerick or haiku writing, I link to some helpful sites here.)
Tags: Banking Limerick, Banking Statements, Checkbook Humor, Financial Poetry, Money Verse
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Money & Finance Humor | 7 Comments »
Friday, January 4th, 2008
My resolution:
No more resolutions
I can’t keep, like this one.
If you missed my satirical New Year’s Resolutions Contract, it’s here. And I hope you’ll join in on my latest haiku and limerick prompt, whose theme is lies and deception.
(This haiku was inspired by Sunday Scribblings and by Read Write Poem, which is back in business thanks to Deb of Stoneymoss.)
View my New Year’s Resolution Haiku image here.
Tags: December Holidays, Haiku Images, Holiday Haiku, Holiday Poetry, New Year's Humor, New Year's Poem, New Year's Resolutions Verse
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Holiday Humor, Poetry & Prompts | 18 Comments »
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
I love 3 Word Wednesday! Just like last week, it presents three words to be used in a poem, and a haiku immediately writes itself in the word order presented. Weird, huh?
This week’s words are button, luck, and pretend:
Button up your lips
And, with luck, we can pretend
This never happened.
Tags: 3 Word Wednesday, Secrecy Haiku, Silent Verse
Posted in Behavior & Personality, Haiku & Senryu, Poetry & Prompts | 17 Comments »
Monday, December 31st, 2007
When prompted to use the words curious, eventually, and shower in a poem, this haiku more or less wrote itself:
I am curious:
Will you eventually
Shower? I hope so.
And here’s another haiku, this one inspired by an earth-themed prompt:
There’s no earthly way
I’d ever vote for global
Warming deniers.
Tags: 3 Word Wednesday Prompt, Shower Verse, Cleanliness Humor, Earth Poetry, Global Warming, Haiku & Senryu, Writer's Island
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Poetry & Prompts, Relationship Humor, Weather Humor | 9 Comments »
Friday, December 28th, 2007
Sorry for the late post! My father’s very ill, and I’ve been traveling between New York and North Carolina.
Today’s limerick and haiku themes are wine and spirits or the New Year or, if you prefer, both. Here’s my wine and spirits limerick:
The bartender offered cheap brandy.
“No fine cognac?” I whined—wasn’t handy.
So I had to decline,
Mulled and ordered dry wine—
Told the barkeep, “Your cab tastes like candy!”
Here’s a wine snob haiku, the first of today’s two haiku:
Decant, sniff, sip, spit—
Wine connoisseur’s ritual.
I’d rather just drink.
And here’s a haiku that combines both themes:
Champagne bubbles dance.
Spirited revelers toast.
A new year’s welcomed.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a limerick or haiku (or both) about today’s theme(s). When you’ve posted your verse, please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry.
(If you need some tips on limerick or haiku writing, I link to some helpful sites here. And you can find my New Year’s Resolutions humor here.)
Tags: Brandy Humor, champagne, Cognac Humor, December Holidays, New Year's Humor, wine and spirits, Wine Snobs
Posted in Celebrations Poetry, Food & Drink Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Holiday Humor, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Poetry & Prompts | 6 Comments »
