I swear that this limerick is based on an actual news item: Artist makes music with bird droppings in Liverpool.
Mucked Up Music (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Just what is a person to do
When creative ideas are few?
If your muse flew the coop,
Here’s an int’resting scoop:
Compose music by using bird poo.
Limerick Ode To Claude Monet
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A man with poor vision, Monet,
Had eyesight so weak, the display
Of the world that he saw
Was blurrily raw.
And that’s why he’s famous today.
(Inspired by DVersePoets’ request for impressionistic poetry.)
I’d hoped to write something that was actually impressionistic, but as you can see from this haiku, I was stymied:
Writing assignment–
dash off impressionism–
no clue how to start.
Update: I’ve just learned that Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840. So happy birthday Claude Monet!
Today’s prompt over at dVerse is “work.” Here’s what I came up with:
Poetic Fantasy (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Just imagine a job that would pay
Us to sit and write poems all day:
If that’s all that we did
For our buck or our quid,
Would we have something worthy to say?
The Onset of an Acrostic Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Oh my, don’t know where to begin —
Not a hint of a concept herein.
So where shall I start?
Eke out rhyme from my heart?
The trick is just write — in like Flynn.
(Inspired by onset over at Acrostic Only.)
You can find more of my acrostic limericks here.
At Think Tank Thursday (Poets United), we’re asked to write a news-related poem. Now since my other blog, Mad Kane’s Political Madness, is devoted to mocking politicians and other news-makers via limericks, I thought I’d try a different news angle here:
Sleepless Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A woman was trying to snooze,
But was kept wide awake by her muse.
Stubborn rhymes kept invading
Her brain and upbraiding
Her: “Rise and go mock some more news.”
April’s a big month for poets — National Poetry Month. This means that instead of simply enjoying spring, poets drive themselves extra crazy by vowing to write a poem a day.
My first April effort was this week’s Limerick-Off challenge. Only 29 poems to go.
Here’s a limerick for Day 2:
Happy National Poetry Month! (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
April’s Poetry Month. Say “Hurray,”
As we vow to write verse ev’ry day.
But that promise is hard,
For this limerick-bard.
Cuz, alas, I have nothing to say.
DVerse prompts us to write about nightmares. Here’s my response:
A Poet’s Nightmare (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A gal had a frightening dream.
It featured her muse — made her scream:
Said her muse, “You must write
About terror tonight
And forever, cuz nightmare’s your theme.”
Thursday Think Tank invites us to write a poem about writer’s block. I was almost too blocked to write this limerick:
Blocked Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A gal was attempting to write
Something clever and witty, with bite.
But alas her poor muse
Went on strike — too much booze.
What a plight: All her verses are trite!
I took a break from limerick writing to write this pair of tanka:
When haiku won’t do,
when thoughts defy compression
and can’t be contained
in seventeen syllables,
give thanks to plus-sized tanka.
********
Some art inspires
tears, joy, admiration, love.
Some awakens thought.
And some makes one want to ask:
“Whatever were you thinking?”
********
Why is this limerick untitled? Because Thursday Think Tank has prompted us to write an untitled poem. Writing without a title frees up our creative juices … at least that’s the theory:
Untitled Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
To title a verse can be hard —
A challenge for most ev’ry bard.
But a title-less work
Can drive me berserk.
It feels jarring and fake-avant-garde.
Creative Keys (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
When you’re whipping your verse into shape
And you’re caught in a rhyme-challenged scrape,
The delete key is handy,
Assisted by brandy,
And last, but not least, try escape.
(Prompted to escape)
Here’s my limerick and haiku prompted by this attention prompt and this challenge to write about writing:
Attention Must Be Paid
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I find paying attention’s a pain.
A-D-D makes it rather a drain.
I’m drifting right now.
Lost in thought? Yes, and how!
Which is why this short story’s inane.
*****
Must pay attention
to pretentious professor.
Can’t? Then pretend to.
*****
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)
Limerick Lament
By Madeleine Begun Kane
There are times that I feel like a tool,
Complying with each lim’rick rule.
So starting today
I refuse to obey.
Don’t believe me? You’re right. April Fool!
(My 2nd National Poetry Month poem, and it’s still April 1st. Yippee!)
National Poetry Month begins today, April 1st. And so…
Ready, Set, Versify!
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I hope to write a poem a day
this month from April 1 till May.
They won’t be long — they rarely are.
Four lines or five, then au revoir.
No need to worry what’s in store:
My ADD cuts in before
I’ve time to wax verbose, prolix —
I used those last two words for kicks.
(I have lots of information here about National Poetry Month.)
April 1st is coming. Are you excited yet? No, I’m not talking about April Fool’s Day, although that’s pretty cool too. But April 1st is also the start of a month-long celebration of poetry in the U.S.A. — National Poetry Month (not to be confused with World Poetry Day.) Many online poets celebrate by writing a poem each day, and they announce their poetic participation over at NaPoWriMo.
So will I be writing a limerick a day in April? Damn right … with the occasional haiku, tanka, quatrain, or butterfly cinquain thrown in to spice things up. And of course I’ll be posting my weekly Limerick-Offs and Limerick of the Week contests every Sunday or Monday.
Here’s my Limerick Ode To National Poetry Month:
Limerick Ode To National Poetry Month (April 2011)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Dear poets, it’s time to prepare
For our April-long poetry fair.
We’ll write verse ev’ry day.
Not on Tax Day? Okay.
Just be sure that you read, write, and share.
Here are some good poetry sites that plan to celebrate National Poetry Month in a big way with daily prompts: Big Tent Poetry and Poetic Asides. Additionally, Writers Island will be providing a daily spot to post your April poems. And if that’s not enough, some sites offer daily prompts all year long, such as The Teachers Corner and Dodge Writes.
Moreover, New York City is holding two poetry contests in honor of National Poetry Month: NYC’s second annual Twitter poetry “Poetweet” contest and its “Poem In Your Pocket Day NYC” Facebook page “Envelope Project.”
If you know of any other National Poetry Day events, contests, and/or prompts, feel free to post them here in the comments section. Thanks!
Mad Kane (Madeleine Begun Kane) is a writer, musician, and "recovering lawyer." She won the Robert Benchley Society Award For Humor and enjoys writing limericks, song parodies, and current events haiku.
You can email her at madkane@madkane.com, visit her political humor blog, or stop by her home page.
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