Motherly Angst (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A mom at the end of her rope
Said “It’s hopeless! I simply can’t cope.
Both the food and the band
Appear to be canned.
The rest of my kids must elope!”
Happy Mother’s Day!
Posts Tagged ‘Music Humor & Verse’
Motherly Angst (Limerick)
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013Canned Limerick (Limerick-Off Monday)
Sunday, February 3rd, 2013It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And since it’s Super Bowl Sunday, I’m offering you an alternative: In addition to your regular challenge, you may write a limerick related to the Super Bowl, using any first line. Next week I’ll present an extra award — one for the best Super Bowl limerick.
And now, getting back to your regular Limerick-Off challenge: 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 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time.)
I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:
A man who’d been recently canned…*
or
A gal who’d been recently canned…*
or
A man who’d been served something canned…*
or
A gal who’d been served something canned…*
*(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:
Canned Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A pianist, quite recently canned,
Was promoting his newly-formed band.
But his bucks now are fewer:
He bribed a reviewer
Who wrote for one K, “This band’s grand!”
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!
Curmudgeonly Limerick
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012Curmudgeonly Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A curmudgeon was in a foul mood —
Even worse than his usual tude.
So his concert review
Read in bold letters, “BOO!”
He was paid by the word … so not shrewd.
UPDATE: January 29 is Curmudgeons Day.
A Sax Tale
Saturday, November 3rd, 2012A Sax Tale
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A blowhard musician named Rand
Played sax (not too well) in a band.
He’d blow solos, yet boast.
Now he’s finally toast—
The leader, at last, took a stand.
UPDATE: November 6 is Saxophone Day, in honor of inventor Adolphe Sax’s birthday in 1814.
Limerick Pose (Limerick-Off Monday)
Sunday, October 21st, 2012It’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 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time.)
I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:
A woman would frequently pose…*
or
A fellow would frequently pose…*
*(Minor variations to my first lines are acceptable, but rhyme words may not be altered.)
Here’s my limerick:
Limerick Pose
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A critic would frequently pose
A challenge to musical shows:
With his venom so vast,
Closing night would come fast.
His view: Not just anything goes.
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!
Mucked Up Music (Limerick)
Monday, October 15th, 2012I 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.
Dear Conductor (Limerick)
Wednesday, August 15th, 2012Three Word Wednesday asks us to use Beat, Pressure, and Substance in a poem. In substance, I’ve beaten them into submission, pressuring those words to fit into this limerick:
Dear Conductor (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Dear conductor, you think you’re elite,
But in substance, you’re always off beat.
You pressure musicians
With harsh admonitions.
To follow your stick’s no mean feat.
Macaronic Music (Limerick)
Thursday, July 26th, 2012This is my second attempt at macaronic verse — a poem that mixes two languages in a humorous manner. While Latin is often the second language, this macaronic limerick uses musical terms:
Macaronic Music
By Madeleine Begun Kane
If you fiddle around while I speak,
Then I’ll trumpet your lousy technique.
If you flaut me, beware!
Your bass secret will air —
Broken G string and all, horny freak!
(Poets United prompts us to writing something about sound.)
The Buglers (Acrostic Limerick)
Saturday, May 5th, 2012What’s even more fun than writing limericks? Writing acrostic limericks:
The Buglers (Acrostic Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Bells up in the air, buglers blare,
Raising rackets most ears can not bear,
And amazing, but true,
Stopping right on their cue.
So their vision, at least, is still there.
(Posted at the DVerse music prompt.)
Tone Deaf Limerick
Thursday, April 12th, 2012Tone Deaf Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A woman who crooned out of key
Did it loudly with pleasure and glee.
She believed she sang well,
Like a beautiful bell.
But “please stop,” was the usual plea.
(For Think Tank Thursday’s “key.”)
You can find much of my music humor here.
Note: Have you entered this week’s Limerick-Off? There’s always one to participate in 24/7.
Last-String Limerick
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012In its latest Thursday Think Tank, Poets United prompts our muses with the word “strings.” It struck a chord with me, inspiring this limerick tale of an unstrung cellist:
Last-String Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
“That conductor has strung me along,”
Said a cellist. “He’s doing me wrong.
He promised first chair,
But instead I’m nowhere:
Stuck in back, the last stand, near the gong.”
(Related Limericks: Musical Chairs; Musical Faux Pas; and Musical Discord.)
Birthday Limerick For Franz Liszt
Saturday, October 22nd, 2011Today, October 22, is the birthday of the Hungarian virtuoso pianist/composer/conductor Franz Liszt. Some people consider Liszt to be the world’s first rock star.
Birthday Limerick For Franz Liszt
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The pianist/composer named Liszt
Was as hot as the cancan and twist:
Caused a Beatle-like heat—
Gals would swoon from his beat
And the sounds he produced with each wrist.
Fast Limerick (Limerick-Off Monday)
Sunday, September 18th, 2011It’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.
As an experiment, I’m offering a freestyle limerick option this week, in addition to my preset pair of lines.
The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner plus the Honorable Mentions.)
I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse.
I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:
A gal who was fast on her feet…
or
A guy who was fast on his feet…
or
Any First Line You Choose
Here’s mine:
Fast Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A gal who was fast on her feet
Knew a winner she yearned to unseat.
So she challenged the champ
At violin camp,
Where strong arms can outpace someone fleet.
Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line (and/or your freestyle limerick) 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 send me an email requesting the alerts. You’ll find my email address on the upper right sidebar, in the “Author” section just below my Limerick-Offs button. Thanks!
Operatic Acrostic Limerick
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011Operatic Acrostic Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Oh that tenor who’s playing the king
Pierces eardrums while trying to sing.
Easy notes he should reach
Really readily screech,
As we grab some bananas to fling.
(Prompted by Acrostic Only)
If you’d like to read the opera-related humor column that won me the 2008 Robert Benchley Society Award For Humor, here’s my Guide For The Opera Impaired.
A Fit Over Fiddles
Friday, March 11th, 2011I had such a good time with my Clichéd Limerick the other day, I thought I’d write another:
A Fit Over Fiddles
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I hope you don’t think this a nit,
But cliché buffs should surely admit
That we need to part ways
With certain clichés:
Just how often do fiddles sound fit?
UPDATE: Happy Cliché Day, November 3rd!
UPDATE 2: World Fiddle Day falls on the Saturday closest to May 19.
American Idol Not Idyllic
Thursday, March 10th, 2011American Idol Not Idyllic (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
I watched Idol last night — wasn’t dandy.
They gave compliments out just like candy.
And something is wrong
When with song after song
The toughest of judges is Randy.
(Linked in I Saw Sunday)
It’s Time To Tanka Beethoven (Tanka)
Sunday, February 27th, 2011It’s Time To Tanka Beethoven
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The King’s Speech film score
gets Desplat an Oscar nod,
but poor Beethoven
is overlooked once again—
He needs a new publicist.
NOTE: Alexandre Desplat’s Oscar-nominated score for The King’s Speech is dominated by the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, specifically Beethoven’s 7th Symphony and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, the Emperor Concerto. For more information on Beethoven’s frequent appearance in film scores, read Why Beethoven Deserves An Oscar.
Musical Haiku Quintet
Saturday, February 26th, 2011String quartet concert
missing one violinist—
time to improvise.
*****
Cruising musician
garners Carnegie Hall gig—
fantasy at sea.
*****
Distracted jazzer
misplaces his melodies—
loses audience.
****
Clueless conductor
hurls baton at oboist—
finally a cue.
*****
Billy Joel said:
We Didn’t Start The Fire.
Maybe we need to.
*****
(My first and third haiku were inspired by The Writer’s Island improvise prompt. My second haiku was inspired by Haiku Wednesday’s fantasy prompt. My late addition 5th haiku was inspired by Sunday Scribblings’ fire prompt.)
Limerick Ode To Willie Nelson
Sunday, November 28th, 2010You’d think Texas cops would have more important things to worry about than marijuana in Willie Nelson’s tour bus. But apparently not, so they arrested him. And that cries out for a limerick:
Limerick Ode To Willie Nelson
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Willie Nelson is in a tough spot
Cuz of grass on his tour bus. What rot!
Such arrests make me groan.
Wish they’d leave him alone.
They’re musicians — they’re s’posed to smoke pot.
