Welcome back to my month-long #WaterPoemProject, Poetry Friday friends.
It’s Day 12. We have been writing in response to prompts about water for nearly two weeks!
If you’re new to this project, please read the Introduction and FAQ. Or you can watch this video of me describing how to participate. It’s on the YouTube channel Authors Everywhere.
For #WaterPoemProject regulars who are new to Poetry Friday, each week a kidlit blogger hosts poetry-related links and posts from around the kidlitosphere. This week’s host is Heidi Mordhorst, who invites us to Shelter in Poetry at her blog, My Juicy Little Universe. (Thanks, Heidi!) Still confused? Renée LaTulippe has a great post about our weekly poetry party.
Who is joining us to share a writing prompt about water today? It’s poet, children’s book author, and RBG biographer Debbie Levy!
Debbie’s poetry prompt is: Jump on In — Let’s Write Limericks!
Debbie Levy
When I observe animals at home in their environments, whether watery or otherwise, I’m always struck—and usually awed—by the things they do, the structure of their bodies, the sounds of their voices. But you know what else strikes me? How they can make me smile and laugh, especially if I imagine a funny story to go along with what I’m seeing or hearing.
So for my turn on the #WaterPoemProject, I’d like to inspire you to smile or laugh! To do that, I’m sharing two videos that I’ve taken of critters in the Chesapeake Bay, near where I live, and instructions on how to write a poem known as a limerick.
In poetry, there’s nothing quite as silly as a limerick. Limericks are also known as “nonsense” poems. Here’s an example of a limerick by Edward Lear, an English poet of the nineteenth century who was a master of the form:
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, “It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
You see? Nonsense. Here’s another:
There was a Young Lady of Norway,
Who casually sat in a doorway;
When the door squeezed her flat,
She exclaimed, “What of that?”
This courageous Young Lady of Norway.
The easiest way to understand the “rules” of a limerick is to read one or two of them aloud and notice where the rhymes fall and what the rhythm of the poem is. What you’ll see is that:
- A limerick has five lines. Lines 1 and 2 rhyme with each other. Lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other. Line 5 rhymes with 1 and 2.
- Lines 1, 2, and 5 have 9 or 10 syllables, or beats.
- Lines 3 and 4 have 5 or 6 syllables, or beats.
- The rhythm of a limerick goes like this:
da – DA – da – da – DA – da – da – DA
da – DA – da – da – DA – da – da – DA
da – DA – da – da – DA
da – DA – da – da – DA
da – DA – da – da – DA – da – da – DA
Say the da-das out loud, and you’ll get it.
Okay, here goes. Check out the videos below. One shows a large school of fish. The other is a small school of rays. Let your imagination run free and funny, and think up some ridiculous story to go with what you see. You can focus just on the school of fish, or just on the rays, or put them together. The sillier the better! Then write that story in limerick form. As you’re writing, it may help you to make lists of words that rhyme in the margins of your paper.
Here’s a limerick I came up with—this was something I worked on last week, and the process of thinking and writing brightened my day:
There once was a fish in a pool
Who wanted to swim in a school
He jumped into the bay
Where he found a stingray
And decided to stay home from school.
Have fun! And in case you’re curious about the videos: Every fall in the Chesapeake Bay, giant schools of menhaden can be seen swirling the surface of the water. Often they’re being chased by larger fish, such as striped bass and bluefish, trying to fatten up before the cold winter comes. These giant schools are awesome sights to see.
The second video shows cownose rays (not stingrays) in a river that feeds into the Chesapeake. These schools of cownose rays show up all summer in the Chesapeake region. I love them!
***
Your task is to jump into a water-themed limerick before the end of the day tomorrow, Friday, April 3, 2020.
If you’re doing the #WaterPoemProject with a group, be sure to share or post your rough draft, read other people’s poems, and cheer for their efforts. Or leave your poem here, in the comments.
Debbie Levy’s most recent book is the graphic novel-style biography Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice (Simon & Schuster 2019). It has no limericks in it, but it does include a couple of RBG’s favorite silly poems when she was a young girl. You can visit Debbie at www.debbielevybooks.com, connect on Twitter at @debbielevybooks, on Instagram at debbielevybooks, and on Facebook.
***
#WaterPoemProject Series Posts:
Project Introduction
FAQ
Prompt 1: Irene Latham, The Language of Water
Prompt 2: Elizabeth Steinglass, What Would a Raindrop Say?
Prompt 3: Linda Mitchell, Found Haiku
Prompt 4: Shari Green, Fogbow Fibonacci
Prompt 5: Margaret Simon, The Taste of Water
Prompt 6: Heather Meloche, The Shape of a Wave
Prompt 7: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, A Water Memory
Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites
Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage
Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home
Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog
Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick
Prompt 13: Joy McCullough, What Are Water Bears?
Prompt 14: Linda Baie, Frozen Water Skinny
Prompt 15: Chris Baron, The Hidden World of Water
Prompt 16: Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Water Wordplay
Prompt 17: Susan Tan, The Sound of Water
Prompt 18: Mike Grosso, Waterplay!
Prompt 19: R. L. Toalson, Wishing Well
Prompt 20: Margarita Engle, Ode to the Shore
Prompt 21: Faye McCray, Poem in a Bubble
Prompt 22: Meg Eden, Surprising Connections
Please support the #WaterPoemProject authors by buying their books from your favorite independent bookstore.
I wandered with you in the Wood;
Both quiet, but we understood:
the river’s been wild
like an unruly child –
these currents, the rocks have withstood
Oh, this is cool!
Love it!
I’m not usually a fan of limericks, but I like the thoughtfulness of this one, Kevin.
There once was an onion named Lou
Who longed to be cooked in a stew
To dance with potatoes
In a sauce of tomatoes
It was all Lou wanted to do
I’m not sure stew falls under the umbrella of water themed, but I tried. Actually, if you’ve ever had my stew, you’d be reminded of water…not my strong suit. : )
It’s tough! I actually shy away from limericks…too much pressure to be funny, for me! I do love the idea of an onion named, Lou!
Okay, you made me laugh twice–first with your limerick, and then with your comment. Thanks, Bridget!
This is hilarious, Bridget! I love that you named your onion.
Well, I couldn’t get the videos to play,
but here’s a limerick anyway.
There once was a school of menhaden
seen off the coast of Manhattan
A big old striped bass
had been chasing their ass
from Norfolk, until it was fattened.
Janice, you must be a Chesapeake Bay denizen! Or an angler. A perfect fisherman’s limerick. You had my whole family cheering.
“A big old striped bass
had been chasing their ass”
: 0 I’m dying! : )))))
Janice, so funny! (Laughing like a middle schooler over “ass.”) Sorry that you couldn’t get the videos to work. Some people could view them and others had trouble.
What a fun prompt! I don’t quite have a limerick yet, but will have to stare at our pond and it critters for inspiration.
Can’t wait to hear what you come up with, Kay. What kind of critters?
Great prompt! My students and I used to have fun writing limericks together. Debbie’s limerick gave me a smile! Laura, I’m saving the prompts for another time. Thank you so much for this project. Take care and stay well!
Thanks, Linda! I’ll post the series on my Padlet so the prompts will be easy to find an use later on.
Limericks are just the spirit of fun we need in these difficult days. I enjoyed all of yours and the ones people have shared in the comments. I’m working on one – but it’s not water themed. I’m all about birds these days!
I reviewed Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice a couple of weeks ago and was happy to see your mention of it here!
Cheriee, thanks for your review of the RBG book. And I’ll look for your limerick!
Cheriee — looking forward to reading your bird limerick!
Terrific to read this prompt & see the videos, too. I imagine kids will have lots to write from them or from their own ‘water’ memories. Thanks, Debbie & Laura!
There once was a peace-lovin’ crocodile
who yearned for a genuine smile
instead received screams
dismissing his dreams
transforming him into a bibliophile
What fun!
Please, please write a picture book based on this character. I love him.
Yesterday on my walk I envied all the birds I saw flitting here and there together and apart as though they had not a care in the world. Here is a my limerick for them.
These birdies think they are so cool
They forage together like fools
Perched on their twigs
They don’t care two figs
About social distancing rules
HA!!! Perfect poem for these times.
I vaguely recalled adding a limerick to one of my anthologies. So thanks for the prompt. Laura and Debbie.
An old man who lived in Kildare
Found a large purple mouse in his hair
He named the mouse Milton
And fed it on Stilton,
Although it preferred Camembert.
(From my book, I Bet There’s No Broccoli On the Moon)
Who doesn’t enjoy a tasty cheese poem?
Thanks for sharing the poem, Alan. I just posted a video where I sampled some Stilton!
I have loved all the prompts. And, it makes my heart happy to know that kids are also participating. Thanks for hosting the #WaterPoemProject , Laura!
Thanks, Linda. Haven’t the prompts been amazing. What a variety of ideas!
Thanks for the prompt. I couldn’t help thinking of the suffocation of being in such a tight group – but the safety it provides against getting eaten:
There once was a scampy young fish
Who pondered aloud ‘How I wish
I could flee from this school
and its stifling rules
Without ending up as a dish!’
So great!
I think you wrote this poem as a metaphor for how my college kid is feeling right now, online schooling from home (where parents are stifling!)
I can never resist a limerick prompt, thanks Debbie, and Laura. And thanks for the fun videos too!
There once was a jolly old ray
Who coaxed a few cousins to play
But after a while
They left in pale style
Cause rays grew too strong on that bay.
Ha! Also, I love seeing the cow nose rays in the Chesapeake. They are peaceful and lovely.
You captured the playfulness of the rays in Debbie’s video.
Watch now for a pair of light rays
Who meet in the bay every day.
One flies underwater,
One skies high and hotter;
Watch how bright geometry plays.
Thanks, Debbie–loved learning about menhaden and cownose rays–your minivideo was inspirational!
Thanks for your limerick, Heidi! And I’m so glad you enjoyed the videos—I love sharing the Chesapeake’s wonders.
Oooh — geometry is a cool word and concept here, Heidi.
Thanks for the fun prompt, Debbie. (Laura knows I love limericks! She and I have that in common.) I’ll try to get back here to leave one in the comments.
Michelle, we are overdue for a limerick challenge!
[…] Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy McCullough, What Are Water Bears? Prompt 14: Linda Baie, Frozen Water Skinny Prompt […]
[…] Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy McCullough, What Are Water Bears? Prompt 14: Linda Baie, Frozen Water Skinny Prompt […]