Limerick: This Five Line Verse

A Hub with a brief history of the Limerick as a piece of comic verse. With a few examples of my own work.

Limerick: This Five Line Verse

Writer's Block

You know the feeling. You sit before a cold white screen with that cursoe winking coyly at you.

You want to type in some words even a letter, but your hands and your brain are paralysed.

You try to think back over the months you have written effortlessly, trying to remember one idea you once casually threw aside to write your next great piece.

But there is nothing, not a memory, not an idea nothing. And still that cursor winks at you, telling you to type something here. You have nothing, but Writers Block.

Click Here to read   Writer's Block

Haiku: Tribute to the Squirrel, in all forms.

We humans often invest animals with human characteristics. The Bee with industry, the fox and coyote with cunning,  the lion with power.

The squirrel is seen as a good symbol for us, the squirrel is able to conserve food forthe future. It appears frugal and wise, Though many an ancient oak owes a debt of thanks to a squirrel who forgot where it planted that acorn.

This Haiku is my tribute to the squirrel.

Brush Tail, Quick Bright eyes.
Save for tomorrow, Nuts hoard,
Frugal, noble saver.

Late: A Poem of Clock Watching

One technique of the poet is to create a persona from another point of view.

In this poem the viewpoint is from the clock on a wall. The clock is an omnipresent and all seeing character. Continually watching and being watched by the questioner, who has but one question, "Am I late?"

The clock's replies are various however, never repeating which adds to the surprise of the reader. Why should a machine be able to answer a seemingly mechanical question from the human questioner. It is a paradox. Who is the real machine in the poem?

Sample:

Am I late?
I watch you into work.
Am I late?
I tick away your break.
Am I late?

To read Late in full Click HERE!

What is a Limerick?

Limerick's are a short poem of five lines.

They comprise of two rhyming lines together known as couplets and a single line which rhymes with the first couplet rhyme, often repeating the first line.

The rhyme structure is AABBA

An example is There was a young girl of Runcorn.    (A)
                        Her voice as loud as a foghorn.         (A)
                        On a hill she would stand,                  (B)
                        Shouting "Here there be LAND!"       (B)
                        That noisy young girl of Runcorn,       (A)


Limericks are often bawdy, that is they are often full of double meaning or sexual in content, that is not a necessary feature but it was a common feature of English Music Hall comedians where they would produce the first four lines of a Limerick and allow the audience to complete their own joke by adding the final line. The regular meter and rhyme means that often the audience could see where the limerick or joke was going. This Music Hall technique was in part to avoid censorship by local officers of the Watch Committees and inpart to prevent children hearing unsuitable jokes.

Limericks are simple to create if you maintain a strong rhyme in the last syllables of the lines.. Once you begin it actually becomes quite addictive. I can create seven or eight Limericks per hour if I set my mind to do so.

Try them they are fun.

To read There Was an Old Man limerick  CLICK HERE!

When You're Gone.

Places and objects can bring back memories of other times.

Sometimes a view or a piece of furniture or a piece of music can hold many memories.

In this poem, sitting on a park bench brings back cherished memories. Tempered and strained by the fact that the loved one is gone. Never to share the place again.


To Read When You're Gone  CLICK HERE!

Starbucks Mugs

This poem as its name suggests was inspired by part of my collection of Starbucks mugs.

As I have travelled across Europe and the United States one of my habitual coffee houses was a local Starbucks. As part of my desire to have a souvenir of my various travels I would by a local mug. Over time this has grown to quite a collection. Over twenty actually. The mugs mentioned are only a part of the collection.

I use the mugs each day and so all of them bring back memories and trigger the emotions of place for me as I drink my coffee or tea in the morning.

To Read the Poem "Starbucks Mugs"  CLICK Here!

A Modern Homer

This poem reflects on the role of writers today. Especially in the light of my own blindness.

It seems a natural progression from the ancient world, where in Greek cities blind poets and story-tellers would sit by the city gate and recite tales and poems to travellers as they passed by.

In this poem I equate modern online writers to those ancient storytellers. Our gate is our computer keyboard, the highway the super highway of the internet and world wide web.

So what did those ancients tell stories of? Heroes such as Achilles and Hector (Homer: The Iliad) Their heroes were warriors and demi-gods. So who do todays Homers praise? The heroes of the internet and modern technologies, Steve Jobs (Apple) and Bill Gates )Microsoft) whom you see as the equivalent of Hector depends on if you are an Apple user, and who is Achilles maybe; Bill Gates?

Instead of a coin tossed by the traveller into the cup of the ancient Homer. Today's Homers seek only to be favored with a like, a tweet or a Digg.

In four thousand years has the world really changed very much?


To read the poem A Modern Homer   Click HERE!

Winter a Haiku

It is funny where the ideas for a poem come from.

As I took a shower this morning, a Haiku came to my mind. It must be the over 100 degree Fahrenheit daytime temperatures and a desire for real cold, that my thoughts turned to Winter.

I can sometimes just come up with an idea and it seems just right. Winter is such a poem. It appeared complete in my mind and I was more worried that I would forget the lines beforeI could write it down.

I quickly dried and dressed and as I did so I was jotting down the words of the poem.
I hope you will go and read it.


READ Winter  NOW!

There was a young girl of Runcorn

There was a young girl of Runcorn.

Her voice as loud as a foghorn.

On a hill she would stand,

Shouting, "Here there be land!"

That noisy young girl of Runcorn.

Limerick: There was a Young Man of Coalinga

There was a young man of Coalinga,
Who everyday in the library would linger.
When questioned would say,
"It's a cool place to stay."
That studious young man of Coalinga.

Welcome to this new Blog

Welcome to my latest blog.

I have been writing poetry as a hobby for many years. In the past few weeks I have also been writing some poetry of various forms for publication.

Most of my poetry is being published on the Yahoo Contributoe Network.

The Yahoo Contributor Network, provides a place to publish poetry or any written or recorded material for that matter. The also pay contributors cash for providing advertising copy similar to Googles AdSense Program.

A Search for Yahoo Contributor Network on any search engine will take you to a sign up page. For easy set up of an account.

This blog is for anyone to enjoy. You may post links to your work or ask others to provide feedback.

I ask that all content be suitable for a wide audience. I will examine requests and will be the final arbiter if submitted products for this blog.

So here are the Do Not's:

1. No obscene language.
2. No Flaming me or anyone else.
3. Deliberately post malicious, or spam.
4. Attempt to place racist, items of a derogatory or implicit sexual nature.

Other than these terms all other posts will be accepted at my sole discretion.

Please feel free to enjoy the blog and contribute your work.