Posts Tagged ‘Celebrations Poetry’

Limerick Ode To Pie Day

Monday, January 23rd, 2023

Dear pie-loving people, rejoice!
It’s “Pie Day,” a day to give voice
To your fondness for pie
And to tell us all why
You actu’lly eat it by choice.

(National Pie Day is celebrated on January 23.)

Happy “Pie Day!” (Limerick)

Sunday, January 23rd, 2022

Today you may celebrate pie;
It’s “National Pie Day.” That’s why.
But pies never tempt me,
So kindly exempt me.
Choc’late layer cake? THAT I would buy.

National Pie Day is celebrated on January 23.

Abandoned Verse (Limerick)

Wednesday, June 30th, 2021

Once again, I’m having fun with a new-to-me word: EPINICIAN.

I once nurtured a worthy ambition
To compose a fine ode epinician.
Then I learned with chagrin
That such verse needs a win.
I surrendered, forsaking my mission.

New Year’s Eve Limerick Trio

Monday, December 31st, 2018

New Year’s Toast:

The new year is coming up fast,
As I think of the world’s recent past.
It feels like the brink,
So to hope I shall drink:
Next year’s GOT to be better than last.

*****
Resolution Disclaimer:

Resolutions ain’t sticky, I fear,
Be it sugar, tobacco or beer.
If you’ve broken that pledge,
Please don’t be on edge.
No worries! There’s always NEXT year.

*****

Drunken Limerick:

Can I write silly verse after drinking?
Let’s see. Wait a second — I’m thinking.
Can’t come up with a verse
Or a rhyme. Even worse,
I suspect that this limerick’s stinking.

MY Kind Of St. Patrick’s Day Celebration (Limerick)

Saturday, March 17th, 2018

We’re off to a nice Bayside pub,
Where Mark will eat Irish-type grub.
I’ll eschew all the food,
But will alter my mood
Through libations — a spiritous sub.

Yet Another St. Patrick’s Day Limerick

Thursday, March 17th, 2016

On St. Patrick’s Day food I’m not keen.
Its corned beef and cabbage cuisine
Makes my stomach feel queer,
And the same goes for beer.
Partake… and I’ll surely turn green.

Not So Glittery Party (Limerick)

Thursday, December 31st, 2015

For her party, she planned lots of glitter,
But forgot; she’s a bit of a flitter.
So nothing was clinquant.
That gal was delinquent…
Also smart; this cut down on the litter.

Happy Limerick Day (and Edward Lear’s Birthday) (May 12)

Tuesday, May 12th, 2015

My lim’rick obsession’s severe;
I write rhymes night and day ev’ry year.
My addiction is brutal.
Resistance is futile…
And I warrant the fault lies with Lear.

Happy birthday, Edward Lear, and Happy Limerick Day!

Yet Another Limerick Day Ode to Edward Lear

Monday, May 12th, 2014

It’s Limerick Day, in honor of Edward Lear’s birthday on May 12th, and so…

Yet Another Limerick Day Ode to Edward Lear
By Madeleine Begun Kane

On May 12th I must celebrate Lear,
Though he’s mostly to blame, it is clear,
For my rhyming affliction
And lim’rick addiction;
I’m perversely a fan, so I cheer.

Limerick Ode To Pi Day (March 14th)

Friday, March 14th, 2014

Happy Pi Day! (The last time I wrote a limerick for Pi Day, I was one day late. But this time I decided to be as precise as Pi.)

Limerick Ode To Pi Day (March 14th)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

The math’matical constant called “Pi”
Is Greek to your average guy.
“Transcendental,” some call it,
But most people maul it;
Comprehension is pie in the sky.

Yet Another Pie Limerick

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

When I wrote my Pie-Eyed Limerick for National Pie Day, I mentioned that I happen to hate pie. This seemed to shock several Facebook friends, who demanded an explanation. Here it is:

Yet Another Pie Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

For those who keep asking me why
I’ve a deep-set aversion to pie,
My antipathy’s based
On its texture and taste.
Change my mind? Sorry, pie in the sky!

Happy Pie Day! (Limerick)

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013

So, is everyone ready for National Pie Day? It’s celebrated every year on January 23rd. Warning: Do NOT confuse it with Pi Day, which is celebrated annually on March 14th.

I actually hate pie. (Now a good chocolate brownie is another story altogether.) But I wouldn’t let my pie-aversion get in the way of a limerick:

Pie-Eyed Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

“Two holidays often confused
Are Pi Day and Pie Day,” he mused.
“One’s for math-hungry dudes
And dudettes. One’s for foods.
For the former, I need to be boozed.”

Limerick Ode To Bastille Day

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Limerick Ode To Bastille Day
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It’s Bastille Day, Quatorze Juillet,
A time of panache and cachet.
Un jour férié—
La raison: Liberté.
Mon Français clearly sucks. Bonne journée.

(Dverse Poets Pub prompts us to write about Bastille Day.)

Mathematical Cat Fight (Happy Tau Day — June 28th)

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

When I went to school a zillion years ago, using Pi was a given in math class. So I was astonished to learn that some mathematicians favor using Tau instead. What’s the difference? While Pi’s value is 3.14 plus an endless bunch of post-decimal digits, Tau’s value is double Pi at 6.28 (plus its own post-decimal digits*.) And while Pi is celebrated on March 14th, math fans commemorate Tau on June 28th.

I figured that since I’ve already written Pi a limerick ode in its honor, Tau deserves the same treatment:

Mathematical Cat Fight (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It seems Pi has a challenger — Wow!
The name of its rival is Tau!
Its value is twice
That of Pi — oh how nice!
“2 Pi R” becomes “Tau R.” Meow!

Happy Tau Day!

* Edited for clarity.

Wedding Anniversary Limerick

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Tomorrow, June 4th, is our 33rd wedding anniversary. So here’s an anniversary limerick for my wonderful husband, Mark Kane:

Wedding Anniversary Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It’s the fabulous 4th, so let’s cheer
Cuz the day we got married is here.
And to add to our mirth,
It’s the date of the birth
Of Aesop … though not the same year.

Happy Limerick Day — May 12th (Acrostic Limerick)

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Every year I like to celebrate Limerick Day (May 12) by writing a limerick in honor of Edward Lear, the father of the limerick. (Here are the two limericks I wrote in Lear’s honor last year.)

Since I’ve recently gotten into writing acrostic limericks, I decided to make things about bit harder on myself and write an acrostic limerick to celebrate Limerick Day (and Lear’s birthday.)

Happy Limerick Day (Acrostic Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Edward Lear should be honored — hooray!
Lim’rick verses he fathered, some say.
Entertained us with wit—
A nonsensical hit.
Remember his birthday — 12 May.

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate National Limerick Day, why not try participating in this week’s Limerick-Off?

Dear Emily Dickinson, Please Forgive Me

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

As part of its National Poetry Month and Poem In Your Pocket Day “Envelope Project” celebrations, New York City is running an Emily Dickinson related poetry contest. Basically, it involves writing your own poems using Dickinson first lines.

Although I didn’t enter the contest (I wasn’t thrilled with its reprint permission form) I chose four Emily Dickinson first lines and wrote four short, whimsical, New York City-inspired poems. Here they are, with Dickinson’s words noted in italics:

I shall keep singing though I’m bad,
and those who hear me shout, “Egad!”
You’ll never see me on Broadway,
unless you mean my street display.

*****

The Cricket sang.
My sleep is done.
I’d sooner hear an engine run.

*****

I started Early–Took my Dog
unleashed — don’t fret —
Just franks and grog.

*****

A Day! Help! Help! Another Day!
I wish sometimes they’d go away.
I much prefer the dark of night
So daylight please, go fly a kite.

*****

Ode To Breakfast (and a Caffeinated Haiku)

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Did you know that today, March 25th, is International Waffle Day? Me neither. And if you feel compelled to celebrate waffles twice each year, National Waffle Day and the waffle iron patent are celebrated on August 24th.

So why am I telling you this? Because I’m obediently rising to the challenge of writing a poem about breakfast. And I stumbled upon all this waffle nonsense while doing some poetic procrastination.

*****

Ode to Breakfast
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Oatmeal breaks my fast
when I arise,
though it tastes like paste
in breakfast guise.

Why not something else
I don’t despise?
Cuz I hate each choice
those chefs devise.

Waffles, eggs, French toast
grits — some may prize.
But hot oatmeal’s quick.
So enough with the “whys.”

*****

While I’m at it, here’s a haiku about my favorite morning (and afternoon and pretty much all day) beverage:

Coffee never tempts,
but denied cappuccino
then call me verklempt.

*****

UPDATE: October 29 is National Oatmeal Day.

Limerick Ode To World Poetry Day — March 21st

Saturday, March 19th, 2011

So far, March has been a big month for celebratory limericks. I’ve already limericked about International Women’s Day, Daylight Savings Time, Pi Day, and St. Patrick’s Day. And now it’s time for a two-verse limerick celebrating World Poetry Day, which falls on March 21st:

Limerick Ode To World Poetry Day
By Madeleine Begun Kane

On World Poetry Day write some verse,
Or in poetry reading immerse.
Try a lim’rick, haiku,
Sonnet, ode, clerihew —
Something witty, or languid, or terse.

On World Poetry Day have some fun:
Compose quatrains, blank verse, or haibun.
Double dactyl, sestina —
The poet’s arena
Will even permit you to pun.

UPDATE: I discovered and corrected some serious errors on Wikipedia’s World Poetry Day page (Google’s top entry for the World Poetry Day topic.) The most glaring error was made more than a month ago, on February 15th, by someone who apparently was manipulating Wikipedia on behalf of a UK-based “global grocery and general merchandising retailer” named Tesco. All references to UNESCO, which had declared March 21st to be World Poetry Day, had been changed to TESCO.

I was stunned that nobody was monitoring Wikipedia well enough to catch and correct this error, and that it took me, an infrequent Wikipedia user, to fix it.

So let that be a lesson to people who rely on Wikipedia. While it’s often useful, it’s far from the gospel. And if you find errors there, be a good Internet citizen and fix them.

One more thing — I urge all poets and writers who are at all publicity-minded, to create their own Wikipedia page. Here’s mine.

UPDATE 2: Commenter Tilly Bud inspired me to combine my two limericks, turning them into a two-verse limerick. Thanks, Tilly!

Limerick Ode To St. Patrick’s Day — March 17th

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

Limerick Ode To St. Patrick’s Day
By Madeleine Begun Kane

On St. Patrick’s Day join in the fun.
We’re all Irish that day — yes, each one.
So wear green, find a pub,
Eat some cabbagy grub,
And until you’ve drunk beer, you ain’t done.