There’s No Substitute For A Bad Job (Limerick and Haiku Prompt)

Today’s limerick and haiku theme is bad jobs. Why? Because everyone I know has had at least one really awful job. As for me, I’ve had more bad jobs than I’d care to remember. So here’s a pair of poems about two of them.  First, my limerick about substitute teaching:

In my twenties I substitute taught.
‘Tis a challenging job and it’s fraught;
All those calls before dawn
To instruct devil’s spawn
Made me anxious, uptight—overwrought.

And now, my haiku about working in a discount department store:

Discount lingerie:
Folded, painstakingly shelved.
Soon to be litter.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a limerick or haiku (or both) about bad jobs. When you’ve posted your verse, please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry.

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13 Responses to “There’s No Substitute For A Bad Job (Limerick and Haiku Prompt)”

  1. paisley says:

    morning mad.. thanks again for the inspiration!!!!!

  2. madkane says:

    Thanks Paisley. I always enjoy your contributions.

    And Noah, I’m looking forward to reading them. Re your question, towards the end of my post you should see a rectangular box that contains these words:

    “This site is using auto-links. If you are participating in Limerick and Haiku Prompts, enter your name and URL in the form below and press Enter.”

    You should see two spaces to fill in your name and the URL of your post. Just fill it out twice, once for each post you wrote in response to this prompt.

  3. paisley says:

    hey you!! i just now saw the badge in your side bar.. i am off to install…

  4. Noah says:

    I didn’t see the box, because I have scripts disable unless I choose to enable them. (With noscript on firefox)

    Now, I see it, though.

  5. Karlana says:

    My first week participating. Thanks for a great place to be prompted for a bit of creative writing!

  6. deathsweep says:

    I really enjoy these! Thank You!!!!!!!!!!

  7. madkane says:

    Thanks Deathsweep and Paisley. Welcome Karlana!

  8. lissa says:

    haven’t written mine yet.

    but I like your limerick – fun and yes children/teenagers can be consider “devil’s spawn” on occasions as I got to experience as a teenager

  9. Robert says:

    Mine aren’t really about “bad” jobs, just about something that happened to me at work almost twenty years ago.

  10. Well the combination of your prompt and my current bad job inspired this one:

  11. Memories of scientific research and a reminder of why I’m not a research scientist:

  12. LittleWing says:

    hi madkane… this is a great prompt… always wanted to participate… thrz some great stories.. hrz mine fishheads

  13. USpace says:

    Great idea, lots of fun, thanks!

    .
    warehouse work –
    forklifts and high racks
    parties behind boxes