You see, I needed a break. I needed to write a limerick:
There once was a girl named Raquel
Who fell face-first into a well
She couldn't get out
So she swam like a trout
And blubbered, "Well, isn't this swell!"
Or maybe this one:
I once knew a lady, Miss Draper
Who found a lad copied his paper.
She failed him at once,
And then called him a dunce,
And burned off his hair with her taper. (Okay, so I couldn't think of anything else to rhyme!)
This is not the time for perfection. Just rhyme, even if it doesn't make any sense. AABBA...
You can do it. Believe me, you need this break probably as much as I do... these two stupid limericks took me a whole three minutes to write, so don't sweat the time. Just do it. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel once you try it.
Writing limericks is like coloring with crayons... fun, without the pressure to be brilliant.
I am glad the limericks are working for you. Seriously.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I hate writing limericks; I like my poetry dark and moody and they seem TOO silly to me. (Which isn't to say there's anything wrong with writing them for everyone who isn't me - just me because of my prejudice). So, I'll forgo the limericks and give you a bonus haiku.
Sometimes the mind knows
How to keep from melting down.
Listen to your mind.
The limerick needn't be trite,
ReplyDeleteThe best keep you up through the night.
And once expert, perchance
They'll include some romance,
Maybe love, hopes and fears if you're bright!
Awesome, Doug998!
ReplyDeleteYour limerick has just made my day
At least SOMEONE is ready to play!
You wrote such a verse
'Twas as witty as terse,
I am grateful far more than I say!
Though the question is, is it only syllable count that makes the poetic form? I've noticed that people remember the 5-7-5 of a haiku, but forget the connection with nature and the flow of the last five syllables from the first two lines that were also indicative of it (I blame my Asian Classics class for my remembering), and we often see limericks that keep the syllable count but abandon the line establishing character, line giving further description, two lines of setup and one line punchline format that it was originally designed with. So the question, then--is it syllabification, content, or both, that defines the poetic form?
ReplyDeleteAnd since I'm being way too serious about this:
A blogger there was on the Coast
Thought she knew words much better than most
She took out her red pen
Slashed again and again
And revised herself into a ghost.