Columbus Limerick

Praising Columbus is now impolitic.
Truth is, he's considered a bit of a dick.
But you've got to respect
one who -- wholly unchecked --
can rename people & places, and it sticks.

Childhood Limerick

Back in the days of crayons and blocks,
every kid wanted the sixty-four box.
I was low-spirited;
told my talent merited
just eight colors of Cray-kray knockoffs.

Conspiracy Theorist’s Limerick

A conspiracy theorist wouldn't take shots -
claimed they were laced with tracking nanobots.
But he never left home
without taking his phone
which constantly triangulated his exact spot.

BOOK REVIEW: There Once Was A Limerick Anthology Ed. by Michael Croland

There Once Was a Limerick Anthology: Lewis Carroll, Robert Frost, Edward Lear, Mark Twain, Carolyn Wells, Woodrow Wilson and OthersThere Once Was a Limerick Anthology: Lewis Carroll, Robert Frost, Edward Lear, Mark Twain, Carolyn Wells, Woodrow Wilson and Others by Michael Croland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: August 17, 2022

This little book gathers a diverse collection of about 350 limericks. [Limericks are a five-line poetic form with an aabba rhyme scheme and short -b lines, and are often humorous – or, at least, punny, quirky, or absurd. The form often uses forced rhymes or contorted language as part of the humor, leaning into the genre’s lowbrow image.] For those who’ve read Edward Lear and may be concerned that these limericks will, like much of Lear’s work, lack punch and humor to the modern ear, that’s not the case. The selected limericks include many clever and witty examples that land as well today as ever. [Lest it sound like I’m dissing Lear, I agree with Langford Reed’s limerick included in this edition – i.e. “We should never forget // That we owe him a debt”]

The limericks are grouped by a classification scheme. The book starts with the most common categories — those that feature locations or proper names in the lead line. It has a few chapters that play with language, twisting it about through misspellings or plays on abbreviations. There’s a chapter that is all tongue twisters. Two of the more popular chapters are toward the end. One is a collection of limericks written by famous writers and personalities, such as: Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, and Robert Frost. The other features ribald limericks. For many, ribald and risqué is what comes to mind when one thinks of limericks – e.g. “There once was a young man from Nantucket.” This book aims for a general audience, and – therefore – avoids the edgiest of material, but it’s good that they realized they couldn’t dodge bawdy and raunchy material altogether, and still claim to be an overview of the form.

I enjoyed reading this collection tremendously. With so much public domain content, I thought there might be a lot of limericks that wouldn’t land, but – on the contrary – most were clever and fun. If you’re a fan of the form, this book is definitely worth reading. And it’s part of the Dover Thrift Edition collection, so no doubt you can pick it up for a song.


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Astronomical Fail [Limerick]

The astronomer Francesco Sizzi
worked himself into a tizzy:
"More rocks in space?
There're seven holes in a face!
Pssh! Galileo calls himself scientist, but is he?"

Note: When Galileo suggested Jupiter had moons, Sizzi summarily rejected the idea based on the “rationale” that there couldn’t be more than seven natural satellites because there are seven holes in a mammal’s head, seven days in a week, and [somehow] seven metals… ergo, seven astronomical bodies, maximum.

Bull Street [Senryū]

the bull doesn't feign stealth,
yet gets close enough to make
shoppers poop themselves

Limerick of the Kenyan Burglar

There was a chill burglar from Kenya
who, as he worked, listened to Enya.
It lulled him to sleep,
a sleep far too deep.
He woke up where burglars, they send ya.

Smells Like Musk [Clerihew]

Elon Musk
has been accused of being brusque.
It's not that he's bitter --
just character-constrained by Twitter.

Heard is the Word [Clerihew]

The actress Amber Heard
claimed to have been beaten & slurred.
The case hinged on profound factors,
like the likableness of actors.

Hide & Seek [Kyōka]

the icy mountain
plays hide & seek in the clouds
like a five-year-old
playing the game
for the first time, ever