Ha I just saw you quoted my little limerick! Thanks! My dad used to tell us obscene limericks at the dinner table, and we’d expound upon various versions of the man from Nantucket and the man from Kent.
I love some good ol’ metrical variance. Doctor Seuss was a master at headless acatalectic anapestic lines, or truncated ones. I think it adds an extra layer of fun to stray from the meter with unstressed syllables at beginning and end of lines - it makes the limerick feel more conversational
Yeah, I realized I intuitively play with the beginnings and ends of lines too in writing them more by ear. Thanks for the great example! And how cool about your dad; I wanna start doing this with Dorian.
There once was a man named Davey
Who wished he had could write more bravey
But brave he was not
His poems were rot
So he drowned his sorrows in gravy.
Said the admiral right back to Davey:
“Methinks that you’re plenty darn bravey.
Going first is, you see
Quite a brave way to be—
Gear up for the limerick navy.”
One more just for fun (in solidarity with Voorhees and Cribben Merrill):
The lim'rick's gone ANJ glam
To pinpoint my preference, ma'am
Concerning what's stressed
I think this is best:
Ere anapest, place an iamb
Keep going there’s no limit
Also if people love limericks, and other light verse, they should follow Light https://substack.com/@lightpoetrymagazine?r=au6iq&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=stories&shareImageVariant=light
Ah I’ve been looking for something like this thanks!
I’ve been reading Light since college. They published two of my poems back when it was print only!
Ha I just saw you quoted my little limerick! Thanks! My dad used to tell us obscene limericks at the dinner table, and we’d expound upon various versions of the man from Nantucket and the man from Kent.
I love some good ol’ metrical variance. Doctor Seuss was a master at headless acatalectic anapestic lines, or truncated ones. I think it adds an extra layer of fun to stray from the meter with unstressed syllables at beginning and end of lines - it makes the limerick feel more conversational
Yeah, I realized I intuitively play with the beginnings and ends of lines too in writing them more by ear. Thanks for the great example! And how cool about your dad; I wanna start doing this with Dorian.
Billy Collins also has a very good master class that covers metrical variance
One day on a train to New Paltz
While list’ning on headphones to schmaltz
I at last could define
What I’d heard in the line…
The lim’rick is poetry’s Waltz!
Too true!
So fun!
Yessss I’m glad