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.”
Today (World Poetry Day) a discussion broke out on Facebook about the unreasonable rules poetry magazines often have regarding prior publication. So I couldn’t resist writing this limerick about these virgin-poem policies:
Limerick Ode To Obnoxious Poetry Submission Guidelines
By Madeleine Begun Kane
If you hope for the honor and thrill,
To be published by us in our swill,
The work that you write
Must have never seen light.
And remember, don’t send us a bill.
Happy World Poetry Day!
A teachable moment: When committing crimes, be sure to use spell-check:
Nabbed By A Typo (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A man may end up in a cell
Cuz his parking permit had a tell:
There was one extra letter
In “parking.” It’s better
When forging to learn how to spell.
(This is based on an actual news story: A driver in Hoboken, New Jersey forged a parking permit on his home computer. He might have even gotten away with his scam, had he not spelled “parking” as “parkting.”)
Every once in a while I like to experiment with a new (to me) form. Today, it’s the quatern.
Writer’s Digest’s Poetic Asides Blog, which is holding a quatern contest, describes the form as follows:
Quatern Poetic Form Rules
1. This poem has 16 lines broken up into 4 quatrains (or 4-line stanzas).
2. Each line is comprised of eight syllables.
3. The first line is the refrain. In the second stanza, the refrain appears in the second line; in the third stanza, the third line; in the fourth stanza, the fourth (and final) line.
4. There are no rules for rhyming or iambics.
Here’s the quatern I submitted to WD’s contest:
Queasy About Quaterns
By Madeleine Begun Kane
As I attempt to write this verse,
I must confess I start to curse.
A quatern is what’s been assigned.
Already I am in a bind.
I feel confused and somewhat terse,
As I attempt to write this verse.
So please forgive me if I whine.
My limericks are where I shine.
I’d like to stop, but can’t refrain
From trying this quatern again.
As I attempt to write this verse,
I fear that it is getting worse.
I’m tempted to reject this form.
About its rules I feel lukewarm.
I’m getting ill. I need a nurse,
As I attempt to write this verse.
Out Of Sync Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A writer was trying to sync
Her laptop, which seemed on the blink.
So much data was lost,
That she cursed at the cost:
“I should never have stopped using ink.”
(Author’s Note: I’m happy to report that this limerick isn’t based on personal experience.)
(Linked at Funny Bunny Fridays)
Dear Merchants (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
It’s Black Friday — you want us to shop,
To spend all of our money, non-stop.
But I won’t spend a dime
Cuz I’d rather spend time
Writing rhymes I could trade. Care to swap?
Thursday Think Tank invites us to write a poem about writer’s block. I was almost too blocked to write this limerick:
Blocked Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A gal was attempting to write
Something clever and witty, with bite.
But alas her poor muse
Went on strike — too much booze.
What a plight: All her verses are trite!
One of my favorite poetry prompt sites, One Single Impression, has asked its poet-participants to propose word prompts for upcoming editions. I suggested the word “amuse,” which will be used next week, starting September 25th. Here’s a limerick and haiku I wrote for the occasion:
Amusing Verse … I Hope
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I try to amuse when I write,
In my quest to pen verse that has bite.
But sometimes my muse
Lets me down. Yes j’accuse!
I suspect that it does it for spite.
*****
Poetry prompt sites
inspire, amuse, bring friends,
awaken muses.
*****
I lie in my bed,
coaxing my brain to adapt
and glide into sleep.
*****
Insomnia strikes
when I’m at my most weary—
tired irony.
*****
My lullaby verse—
I knew I should write it down—
now it’s lost to sleep.
*****
My thoughts skip around
like out-of-control children—
scaring sleep away.
*****
You can read my How To Become An Insomniac (Humorous How-To) here.
(My first haiku was inspired by Three Word Wednesday’s “adapt, glide, lie” prompt. My second haiku was inspired by Sensational Haiku Wednesday’s “weary” prompt.
Update: Happy Festival Of Sleep Day!
View my insomnia haiku image here.
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.
