Saturday, April 26, 2014

DAY TWENTY-SIX!! "Limerick Poem" for 30 Poems in 30 Days" #NationalPoetryMonth

 

Let's Write a Limerick!!

Here's another poetry form for April's #NationalPoetryMonth ~ Have fun!!
A Limerick is a rhymed humorous or nonsense poem of five lines which originated in Limerick, Ireland. The most commonly heard first line of a limerick starts with: "There once was a man from ___________."
 
Example:

The Man From Aruba                      
There once was a man from Aruba,
Whose favorite hobby was scuba.
Every day he would wish,
He could spear a big fish.
But settled instead for canned tuna.         
 
         
                         © 2005 Jim Dupy

The Limerick has a set rhyming scheme of: A-A-B-B-A (meaning lines ENDING in “A” must rhyme with each other and lines ENDING in “B” must rhyme with each other) and with a syllable pattern of: 9-9-6-6-9. OR, perhaps more common is: 8-8-5-5-8. (See details per line below) and some limericks even mix it up a little.

Line 1 – “a” – 8 or 9 syllables
Line 2 – “a” – 8 or 9 syllables
Line 3 – “b” – 5 or 6 syllables
Line 4 – “b” – 5 or 6 syllables
Line 5 – “a” – 8 or 9 syllables

Here is a rather famous limerick with the pattern "sounded out" underneath each line (written in blue) ~ the number of "DUMS" is the important part ~ also notice the rhyming pattern A-A-B-B-A:

There was an old man from Peru, (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS)
who dreamed he was eating his shoe. (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS)
He awoke in the night (B)
da DUM da da DUM (2 DUMS)
with a terrible fright, (B)
da da DUM da da DUM (2 DUMS)
and found out that it was quite true. (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS)

It’s rather “sing-songy” so just play around with it and then check to be sure the correct lines end in rhymes and that you have the correct number of syllables. It’s tricky, but very fun!!

Here you can see me PLOTTING out a fun little limerick I wrote a couple of years ago about my then 6-year-old grandaughter: 
 
Six-year-old granddaughter, Taylor,
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
Amazing piano player.
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
A song she will hear
da DUM da da DUM                    
Then play it by ear,
da DUM da da DUM
So pretty, I’ll have to pay her!
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM

Here is the finished version: 



The Piano Player 
   
Six-year-old granddaughter, Taylor,
Amazing piano player.
A song she will hear               
Then play it by ear,
So pretty, I’ll have to pay her!

                   © 2012 Stephanie Abney






And,  here’s the one I wrote the last time I did a "30 Poems in 30 Days" challenge in 2011:
The Poetry Fest
        
Stephanie had a poetry fest
Encouraging friends to do their best
“Write a poem each day,
I’ll show you the way.”
“At the end of the month we will rest!

                       © 2011 Stephanie Abney
 

4 comments:

Vicki said...

There once was a couple so fair
They thought they were walking on air
Then one bright sunny day
They were shown the right way
Now they are a happier pair.

Heidi L. Murphy said...

I wrote one about wind on www.murph4slaw.blogspot.com
Thanks for all the hard work you've done this month, Stephanie! (Which, by the way, is my protag's name in Letters For Steps.)

Tanya Parker Mills said...

"Driving Me Crazy"

This poem is driving me crazy,
It's not just because I am lazy,
I drove five hours in rain,
So I can't feel my brain,
The travel has made my thoughts hazy.

Stacy said...

There once was a woman named Stacy.
Who can't be found wearing anything racey.
As a mother of eight,
she thinks they're top rate.
But for her husband, she's totally crazy.

Derek is a small child of four.
Who is always asking for more.
"I need more trucks!
And more lego deluxe!"
So he can leave them all over the floor.