Archive for the ‘Advice Humor & Poems’ Category

If It’s Too Good To Be True, It Ain’t! (Limerick)

Wednesday, October 28th, 2015

Stop getting yourselves into jams
By falling for Internet scams.
If you’re lured by a post
Or an email, you’re toast.
So say bye to your bread. They’re all shams.

Kick Butts Day Limerick

Wednesday, March 18th, 2015

Today, March 18, is Kick Butts Day.

Kick Butts Day Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Today is the day to kick butts.
No ifs, ands, or buts — smoking’s nuts!
For the cig rut’s a yoke
That can kill you — no joke!
So though quitting’s a drag, show some guts.

A Lemon Of A Limerick

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

A Lemon Of A Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

“Turn lemons to lemonade?” Ugh!
Such advice sounds to me oh so smug.
No I won’t sugar-coat,
Cuz it sticks in my throat.
But turn lemons to lim’ricks? We’ll hug.

Happy National Lemonade Day! (For some odd reason, it’s celebrated both on August 20th and on the first Sunday of May.)

Limerick Vice (Limerick-Off Monday)

Sunday, June 22nd, 2014

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner.)

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner next Sunday, right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse. Your submission deadline is Saturday at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time.)

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A fellow with many a vice…*

or

A gal who was free with advice…*

or

A fellow had bought a device…*

or

A fellow was using a vise…*

*(Please note that minor variations to my first lines are acceptable. However, rhyme words may not be altered, except by using homonyms or homophones.)

Here’s my limerick:

Limerick Vice
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A fellow with many a vice
Was, needless to say, not too nice;
When warned by his doc,
He’d scorn and he’d mock.
Now he’s mournfully paying the price.

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

Odes To Roger Ebert, Ed Koch, Van Cliburn, & “Dear Abby” Columnist Pauline Phillips

Thursday, January 30th, 2014

This week’s Style Invitational features the witty winning entries in its contest for poems that commemorate people who died in 2013. Here are my non-winning ditties about Roger Ebert, New York City Mayor Ed Koch, concert pianist Van Cliburn, and “Dear Abby” columnist Pauline Phillips:

Roger Ebert:

For films that were plums,
Way up went his thumbs.
When downward they’d roam,
You’d know to stay home.

*****

Mayor Edward Koch:

This mayor rescued NYC
From near-financial ruin;
Ed Koch his name, his fav’rite game
Was asking “How’m I doin’?”

*****

Pauline Friedman Phillips a/k/a Abigail Van Buren:

“Dear Abby” was her column
Telling readers what to do.
Give your friends that very counsel?
That’s an act you’ll surely rue.

*****

Van Cliburn:

In a world-wide Moscow contest
Van Cliburn sure impressed.
But this USA pianist
Had the piano judges stressed.

They felt that he deserved to win
And so with trepidation
They asked Nikita, “Can we please
Give Cliburn top ovation?”

Mr. Khrushchev gave an answer
That surprised them. It was wise:
“If Van Cliburn played the very best,
Then give that man first prize.”

So a classical musician
Helped achieve a cold war thaw:
An American in Russia
Playing piano past a draw.

A Pessimist’s Ode To “Look On The Bright Side Day”

Saturday, December 21st, 2013

I was disturbed to hear that today (December 21) is “Look On The Bright Side Day.”

Please don’t tell me to “look on the bright side.”
This merely exposes your trite side.
Neither wise, nor delightful,
It makes me feel spiteful.
Quote that maxim? I’ll max out my smite side.

Caveat Burglar (Limerick)

Wednesday, November 6th, 2013

This fellow tried to rob the wrong house:

Robyn Irvine, a former ax-throwing competitor living in Hemet, Calif., woke up when she heard a noise and saw the burglar trying to snatch her watch from her wrist, according to CBS Los Angeles.

Irvine quickly grabbed an ax, scaring the intruder.

Caveat Burglar (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear burglars, it’s time to face facts:
Preparation is key — don’t be lax.
You must research each job
To ensure folks you rob
Aren’t expert at lobbing an ax.

Without Common Sense, We’re Toast (Limerick)

Tuesday, November 5th, 2013

I couldn’t possibly resist a title like this: “London firefighters urge ‘common sense’ after penis freed from toaster.

Without Common Sense, We’re Toast (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

When devising some bedroom delights,
It ain’t right to try reaching new heights
With devices like toasters
And blenders and roasters,
Else your privates might need their last rites.

Stop Smoking, Already! (Limerick)

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Here’s a limerick to celebrate World No Tobacco Day. (May 31st)

Stop Smoking, Already!
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Please stop smoking already. Don’t dicker.
Tobacco will end your life quicker.
Have a heart, as I air
This advice, cuz I care:
Be kind to your lungs and your ticker.

Dear Driver (Limerick)

Thursday, January 31st, 2013

Dear Driver (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear driver, here’s crucial advice
That I hope I won’t have to say twice:
It’s best not to drive
Wearing skates. You won’t thrive,
Cuz you’re skating on very thin ice.

This limerick was inspired by this news item about a Canadian fellow charged with driving through a red light. He was on his way to a rink and had been driving while wearing ice hockey skates:

Driving with skates “is probably not very safe” because the motorist has limited contact with the brake and gas pedals, said Staff Sgt. Ken Hruska.

Limerick Ode To “World Kindness Day”

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

Happy “World Kindness Day,” which is celebrated on November 13th.

Limerick Ode To “World Kindness Day”
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It’s “World Kindness Day.” Try to be nice.
Put your mean inclinations on ice.
Be pleasant and sweet—
A warm smile would be neat.
Please don’t hurt me — it’s only advice.

(Linked at DVerse Poets.)

A Polite Limerick

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

The latest prompt from Three Words Wednesday asks us to use these three words in any sort of poem: Differ, Halt, and Imagine. And somehow I coaxed them all into a limerick:

A Polite Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

When planning a verbal assault,
It can sometimes be useful to halt
And imagine your view
With a more polite skew:
Beg to differ‘s a handy default.

Gunning For Father Of The Year? (Limerick)

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

Taking your baby son with you when visiting a hooker is probably unwise:

A man in Tuscaloosa may be charged with child endangerment after taking along his nine month old son during a meeting with a prostitute.

Once inside the motel room, another man entered and a fight broke out. Shots were fired while the baby was in the room, and a bullet grazed the father’s head.

Gunning For Father Of The Year?
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear dads, if your kid’s under one,
And you’re looking for prostitute fun,
A sitter’s a must;
Else forget about lust,
Or be labeled a son of a gun.

Sundry Haiku

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Words meant to welcome—
“Please make yourself at home.”
remind me I’m not.

*****

Oboist mutes gasp,
playing unviable phrase,
conquering Bizet.

*****

A Nantucket man
knew his much lim’ricked neighbor—
envied him his fame.

*****

Plan for the future,
but never let your planning
erase the present.

*****

An alluring scent,
indecently delicious,
renders gents senseless.

*****
(The first haiku was inspired by Sensational Haiku Wednesday’s home prompt. The second haiku was inspired by 3 Word Wednesday’s prompt to use the words gasp, mute, and viable. That second haiku alludes to a notoriously long and difficult oboe passage in Bizet’s Symphony in C.)

Hasty Acrostic Limerick

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

Help! I can’t stop writing acrostic limericks! Here’s my latest:

Hasty Acrostic Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

He who rushes ain’t likely to rate
And he’ll probably err and be late.
So take enough time —
To be careful is prime.
Easy does it. Perfection can wait.

Stubborn Limerick

Monday, June 13th, 2011

Opinionated Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A fellow who thought he knew best
Spurned conflicting opinions with zest—
His perpetual song:
“I am right. You are wrong.”
Self-improvement, it seems, not his quest.

Creative Keys

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Creative Keys (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

When you’re whipping your verse into shape
And are caught in a verse-challenged scrape,
The delete key is handy.
Assisted by brandy,
And last, but not least, try escape.

(Prompted to escape)

Minding My Haiku

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

Just a single spark —
all you need to fire up
imagination.

*****

Blaming messenger
heralds avoidance when you
can’t bear the message.

*****

Some thorny problems
can’t be solved by deep thinking
and just need deep sleep.

*****

(Prompts used in this post: making fire from We Write Poems, messenger from Sunday Scribblings, and thorn from Weekend Wordsmith)

Newsy Limerick 2

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Newsy Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Restricting your diet of news
To outlets endorsing your views
Reinforces beliefs
And bias and beefs.
Why bother? You might as well snooze.

(Prompted by this circular poetry writing prompt.)

Author’s Note: I just realized that this limerick could just as easily fit in my other blog where I post political humor and satire.

Unstuck (Limerick)

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

Unstuck (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Whenever I feel like I’m stuck —
Like I’m trapped in a rut or in muck,
I attempt something new.
(What else can you do?)
And sometimes that changes my luck.

(Inspired by Big Tent Poetry’s stuck prompt.)