Poetic Asides prompts us to write a “knock on wood” poem. So I’m tempting fate with this one:
This Will Turn Into A Limerick … Knock On Wood
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I often will say, “knock on wood,”
And I WOULD knock on wood, if I could.
But it’s rarely around,
So instead I stomp ground,
In the hope it will do me some good.
Brian over at DVerse Poets asks us why we write:
Why I Write Limericks (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I write cuz I don’t have a choice.
I’m simply compelled to give voice
To distress through my humor:
This angst-ridden boomer
Must in whimsy and lim’ricks rejoice.
It seems that artificial intelligence has a pun and joke-writing branch called computational humor. For instance, a computer software program called Standup:
Though it’s not quite Louis C. K., the Standup program, engineered by a team of computer scientists in Scotland, is one of the more successful efforts to emerge from a branch of artificial intelligence known as computational humor, which seeks to model comedy using machines.
Some Jokes Just Don’t Compute (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Computational humor is here:
Oddball software whose goal’s the frontier
Of punning and jokes.
But so far, I’d say folks
Who are funny have nothing to fear.
When I’m asked to write something inspirational, things tend to go badly:
Inspirational? Moi??? (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Inspirational verse ain’t my thing,
And when prompted to give it a fling,
I’m more likely to joke,
Or even provoke.
Wax heartfelt? I’d much rather zing.
Curmudgeonly Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A curmudgeon was in a foul mood —
Even worse than his usual tude.
So his concert review
Read in bold letters, “BOO!”
He was paid by the word … so not shrewd.
UPDATE: January 29 is Curmudgeons Day.
Poetry Jaam prompts us to write about love or passion. I almost took a pass on this prompt, because I don’t like writing (or reading) mushy stuff. (Hubby Mark is our household’s designated mush-meister.) But instead of skipping it altogether, I came up with this:
Limerick Passion
By Madeleine Begun Kane
About lim’ricks, I truly have passion,
And I guess that is love, in a fashion.
Cuz to me, rhyme’s like breathing—
Without it, I’m seething.
Have compassion — don’t ask me to ration.
Three Word Wednesday asks us to write a poem using these three words: Amuse, Excite, Sincere. So I’ve used them in a limerick describing my goal in writing political limericks in my other blog.
Limerick Goals
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I’m sincere in expressing my views
And I try to excite and amuse.
I ain’t always polite:
It’s my duty to smite
Evil pols with each lim’rick j’accuse.
A big holiday’s coming up tomorrow, August 18th: Bad Poetry Day.
Limerick Ode To Bad Poetry Day
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Bad Poetry Day is tomorrow.
I shall greet it with fear and some sorrow.
Will my e-box be strewn
With verse that’s rough-hewn?
Do you have a good rhyme I can borrow?
Three Word Wednesday asks us to use these three words in a poem: Emotion, Falter, and Touch.
To Emote, Or Not To Emote — That Is The Question (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
There are poets who write with emotion,
Touching readers with depth and devotion.
Such approach makes me falter
And muse: Must I alter
My whimsy? A risible notion!
(Also posted at Poetry Jam, who asks us to make a verb the topic of our poems.)
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.
Today’s prompt over at dVerse is “work.” Here’s what I came up with:
Poetic Fantasy (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Just imagine a job that would pay
Us to sit and write poems all day:
If that’s all that we did
For our buck or our quid,
Would we have something worthy to say?
I’ve noticed that many otherwise diversified poets don’t write limericks, and that many limerick writers tend to specialize, generally avoiding other verse forms. I wonder if this explains the former:
The Neglected Limerick (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The lim’rick is often neglected
By poets who deem it infected
With lewdness beneath them.
It’s time to unsheathe them,
Wielding limericks clearly erected.
The Onset of an Acrostic Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Oh my, don’t know where to begin —
Not a hint of a concept herein.
So where shall I start?
Eke out rhyme from my heart?
The trick is just write — in like Flynn.
(Inspired by onset over at Acrostic Only.)
You can find more of my acrostic limericks here.
Yet Another Limerick Ode To My Husband Mark Kane
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Oh, what have I done to my Mark:
Taught him limerick writing, and hark!
Now he’ll draft something new,
Then lug laptop to loo —
I can’t hide from his poetry arc.
(Note from Mad Kane: I’m really not making this up. On Sunday, Mark followed me into the bathroom, carrying his laptop. That’s how eager he was to show me his latest limerick.)
April’s a big month for poets — National Poetry Month. This means that instead of simply enjoying spring, poets drive themselves extra crazy by vowing to write a poem a day.
My first April effort was this week’s Limerick-Off challenge. Only 29 poems to go.
Here’s a limerick for Day 2:
Happy National Poetry Month! (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
April’s Poetry Month. Say “Hurray,”
As we vow to write verse ev’ry day.
But that promise is hard,
For this limerick-bard.
Cuz, alas, I have nothing to say.
DVerse prompts us to write about nightmares. Here’s my response:
A Poet’s Nightmare (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A gal had a frightening dream.
It featured her muse — made her scream:
Said her muse, “You must write
About terror tonight
And forever, cuz nightmare’s your theme.”
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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Dear Readers (Limerick)
Wednesday, February 27th, 2013Earlier this week, DVersePoets asked us how we feel about blog poetry feedback:
Dear Readers (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
When you visit my blog, don’t be mute.
Feel free to critique. Be astute.
Admiration is sweet,
And a LOL can’t be beat.
But I beg you, don’t say that it’s “cute.”
Tags: Blog Commenting, Reader Comments, Reader Feedback, Writing & Publishing Humor
Posted in Limericks, Writing & Publishing Humor | 12 Comments »