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Forum Limericks A guy from Rhode Island is Tony it’s his work that rings true, never phony he steps up to the plate to write is his fate And his images sing life's testimony It's a Badger, the bard in clear color his work gives a smile or a cry, it’s a muller master of form all you ladies I warn he is charming, disarming, a luller Now there's Barry who writes from the UK it's a walk through his dreams with in one day an Eclipse of all others writes never of Mothers with a photo of Keats on display. Then Dave Parsley is known for his art He's a seer with a plan from the start he writes sonnets of love and long poems from above his devotion emits from his heart It is Benjamin paints with the word he is Geoff to the members who've heard It's his talent we cheer He is good never fear and no verses will ever be slurred Ah my man of the world is our Marti he employs form like a pro, he's a smarty Now from Texas he hails and his heart never fails to deliver a poem to inform or to party. There’s a doctor or con-man among us. his poems are thoughtful and righteous so is this a scam at least it’s not spam just enjoy and you’ll see, he’s ominous. Then there's Douglas a chap from Cape Town like a cutter of diamonds on countdown., his poems are sharp like the strings of a harp his words sing with the zing, he's renown. A Gatekeeper haikus with skill I would love to read more at will with words short and sweet is the way that we meet Catch the train to a place on the hill A gent from the south is our Rhyme Guy he is gracious and wise in his bow-tie he is willing to learn any technical term and observes from his heart with a kind-eye In Manila there is Joel writing verse, with words fluid and true, never terse. In a world set apart on an island of art he sends poems into space for the universe. Adding me to this list where I Tinker it is fun to create I'm a thinker it's my passion to learn for the art I will burn with my heart and my brain and my winker. And our English contingent Frank E with poetic, historic decree is quick to write tomes with Grimm’s little gnomes and a boon to this board, all agree. Frank is lost to us now. He will always be missed. In Japan there's an Irish Dedalus with his lilt he fluidly captures us historical rants and occasionally chants It's Brendan who's among the best of us It's Yarnspinner's trucker that got me a sad tale in a musical emotional spree he emotes from the soul it is tears he will dole In the snow we will go with a memory. From Buhtan there's a poet who's Golden it's the Tanka unique emboldens imagery at it's best her poems bequest an exotic display we're beholden. The Marshall in town we call Linda she patrols with her heart in the wind-a she’s quick on the draw to give a hurrah and her poetry ’s pure disciplined-a Now it’s Nick who will hate to be rhymed but it's better than he being slimed a master at lyric I’d say hemispheric and his comments are always well timed It’s Barooba you’ll find at the pub he performs while he’s eating his grub his language is strong even said to be wrong so we keep him in line with a club. There is Blog-jamb who’s mastered the sonnet writes of presidents, love and her bonnet his tomes he could sell like his sweet Villanelle with the praise that is lavished upon it. It is Lake that can calm us with Zen as serenity flows from her pen she will rest for a while ’neath the tree with the smile then she’ll write us a haiku again. Now it’s Jonathan’s tats that intrigue me do they match the great art of his poetry? When the seagulls fly west are they inked on his chest? Is he Carlo or Seagull, who is he? Now summayyah is young and alert a heart we don’t want to have hurt should her young man aspire her heart to acquire he must first wine and dine with dessert. Aleksandra was known to like cake it was sweets that would give her an ache so her boyfriend conspired a grill he acquired at their café she now orders steak. In our group is a lady named nia she writes poetry, sweet panacea the folks are beguiled but don’t get her riled to test her is one bad idea Anastasia’s a poet of merit we do find just beyond the pooled light unconfined her words come alive like a buzzing beehive from her verse, pollinating your mind At four in the morning you’ll find Larsen but don’t fret, he’s not planning an arson Victor simply can’t sleep and he just won’t count sheep he writes verse that’s approved by a parson. Victor has also passed from us. We miss you Victor. So, what do I do with til’ Sover? I wish that he hailed from Dover. he drove a blue truck in the rain and the muck and he fished from a meadow of clover. It is Wistful who lives in the barn she can spin a delightful turned yarn it’s her ship coming in if wrecked, its a sin then she’d swim to shore wet, no, oh darn! The Portuguese offer us J T Picasso can’t rival his creativity an artist so fair paints with words bare and the fire he sings us, proclivity. The Monster’s a young one with edge but to tame his panache he does pledge he’s on the right track and we all have his back a fence when he steps on the ledge. Manoel, a young friend from Brazil will make film and write ads for a meal he divides him from Him on a creative whim his talent and charm seals the deal. Now aureryr has me stumped from this series I almost bumped rolls out in barrels ignoring the perils but I hate to see anyone dumped. A man on a mission is Grasshopper now, I know he could tell us a whopper but he simply tells tales a flight he unveils I listen as if I an eavesdropper Our Canadian Miss Ivy, I think is a shy one yet she shares poems with us in the bright sun her images all brand new she prays twice, you can too the inkblots congeal and her poem is done. The Canuck we adore we call Fader he’s the opposite of the dread Darth Vader with his brother he fishes and he grants us 3 wishes his tomes are eclectic, a poetic crusader About Anna who lives in between twixt what and what does she mean? images seen through a lens scribed with her colorful pens she displays observations, she’s keen. There’s spauldhr the poet from France. with tomes choreographing a dance. to want is to haunt and maybe to flaunt the music of words is not by chance A Frenchman who goes by busard a funny dodo who landed here hard now sits on a bench sings of love in French and is welcome to play in our yard. (the funny dodo is busard’s expression not mine) Added in 2023 There once was a poet named Terry her work has the magic of fairies. Her garden she shares with Canadian aires we anxiously await her commentary Now Assaff has joined our Forum and quickly learned the decorum. With poems of grace can get up in your face but makes you think and is never bore-um. Occasionally Mike Jewett appears when he speaks we're all ears hope for more an open door next time he shows we'll share beers. There's John I've known since his teens. His angst would drone on by all means. But since has grown up and writing is his cup take note when reading his screens. A Baez has been missing a while but her poems left behind will beguile in the fragrance of flowers you'll be reading for hours impressive with her own unique style. Our newbie SweetNuggz is still shy from the poem shared, can't guess why the dynamics were clear there should be no fear once active, this poet will bring us a high. And Omar another new member has posted a few sweet and tender need more from this guy still learning the why I'm sure he's not gone off on a bender. And new limericks for some older members No ignoring our leader Mr. Tony you'll never catch him eating bologna. meter master forum pastor Cross him and he can be stoney My favorite Welshman is Phil our very own Badger at will his poems renown here and in London town yet he posts his tomes with us still There once was a poet called Barry whose imagery sometimes is scary. He posts off and on writing sundown to dawn and his poems are never arbitrary. Oh and then there is Juris/Dr Con his poems are worth logging on with vocabulary large he's clearly in charge makes me think, sine qua non. Our epic writer is a Parsley called Dave when he passes by give him a wave. His work sucks you in his poetry is a win it makes you feel trusting and brave.

Here you will find various prompts to hopefully jumpstart your poetic fingers into writing. Try for daily writing time, but even a weekly poem is better than nothing at all Setting up a regular routine for writing can result in a lot of poems written on the fly, often without fine tuning. But it also can spark the beginnings of a new poem that can be honed later. What the challenge does is, it inspires writing. Any one can jump in when and if the prompt moves them. If you are so inspired go ahead and share your prompted poem in the thread and identify which prompt you followed. Of if it turns out a winner maybe share it in Member's Poetry where it will be commented on. I will do my best to add the prompts and forms here in this thread in case someone here could benefit from a little nudge. Don't expect me to be punctual with the prompts No judges here, just nudges. ~~Tink

There once was a youngster named Lee who drank whiskey all day on a spree he stumbled around and puked on the ground and vowed he'd switch back to sweet tea. ~~Judi Van Gorder Prompt: Write a Limerick about a drunk in celebration of International Whiskey Day March 28, 2018

Explore the Craft of Writing Light Verse The Limerick is an old folk-tradition. Although commonly thought to be Irish, there is evidence that this verse form is, in fact, an old French form brought to the town of Limerick Ireland by returning veterans of the French War in 1702. Conversly, the verse form can be traced back even further. The oldest recorded poem fitting the metered, rhymed frame is from Thomas Aquinas (Italy 1225-1274). Sit vitiorum meorum evacuation Concupiscentae et libidinis exterminatio, Caritatis et patientiae, Humilitatis et obedientiae, Omniumque virtutum augmentation. Whatever evidence of French or Latin influence, the form still epitomizes all things Irish to me, therefore I include it with the Irish verse forms. It was popularized in England by Edward Lear in 1846 as a result of his travels to Ireland in his Book of Nonsense. During this time Lear is also said to have written The Owl and the Pussy Cat for his daughter. The Limerick of today is whimsical, witty and often bawdy. I have read that some of the Limericks that have hung around the longest are down right raunchy. The simplicity and quick easy wit of the limerick quite possibly account for its ageless run of popularity. It is the only Irish stanza that is used exclusively for light verse. The elements of the Limerick are: a poem in 5 lines, a pentastich. metered verse written in anapestic patterns. L1, L2, and L5 are trimeter (3 metric feet) and L3 and L4 are dimeter (2 metric feet). (anapest = da da DUM or u-u-S = unstressed , unstressed, stressed syllables.) best used for witty, whimsical, bawdy themes, light verse. written with a rhyme scheme a,a,b,b,a. no title is used. is adaptable to variation. The 3rd and 4th dimeter lines are often indented. And because so many Limericks begin "There once was a ..." the first syllable of a line may be absent. Also, there may be an additional or subtracted syllable at the end or even in the middle of a line, if it can be read without breaking the rhythm. Sometimes the third and fourth lines are printed as a single line with internal rhyme. So a Limerick sounds like this: (da) da DUM da da DUM da da DUM, (da) (da) da DUM da da DUM da da DUM, (da) (da) da Dum da da DEE, (da) da DUM da da DEE, (da) da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (da) (da) in parenthasis is optional There was a young lady of Niger Who smiled as she rode on a Tiger; They came back from the ride With the lady inside, And the smile on the face of the Tiger. --- unknown The parrot was messy and loud; her master was doting and proud. But should master die, his wife won't deny, the bird will be wearing a shroud. ---Judi Van Gorder An Irishman came to my city. his manner was charming and witty. He courted a lass who had a large ass, and he praised her big butt --- in a ditty. ---Judi Van Gorder Cross Limerick is an American invented form, a variation of the Limerick found in Pathways of a Poet by Viola Berg. It adds a couple of lines to the Limerick verse form. The elements of the Cross Limerick are: a septet. (7 lines). metric, anapestic patterns. L1, L2, and L7 are trimeter (3 metric feet) and L3, L4, L5 and L6 are dimeter (2 metric feet). (anapest = da da DUM or u-u-S = unstressed , unstressed, stressed syllables.) rhymed, rhyme scheme aabcbca. best used for witty, whimsical, bawdy themes, light verse. untitled