Young Writers Society

Lovely Limericks of Poetry Event

Summary: Write a limerick. You can even take this humor style to the next level and write it about something that happened on YWS.

How to enter: Submit your limericks in this thread. For discussions, questions, comments, concerns and so forth, use this thread. Submissions are due during this event.

Description: Write a limerick and post it to this thread. To write a limerick, all you need is the right cadence which you can get by reading limericks and mimicking the beat. Basically, make sure it rhymes a-a-b-b-a, and has the lines with the a rhyme longer than the b lines. For more information, keep reading.

Have you ever heard "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall?" We're going to write something similar! It's called a limerick, and they're the most popular poem structure for on-the-spot poets. Why? because the cadence can fit with just about anything. Let's get the whole poem down.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings horses,
and all the king's men,
couldn't put humpty together again.

Here is one of the most popular limericks that most people know, this is what you should follow.

There was an Old Man of Nantucket
Who kept all his cash in a bucket.
His daughter, called Nan,
Ran away with a man,
And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

To write a limerick, start with something you want to talk about and just introduce the name of it or one aspect of it. Then, introduce their vice, or the thing that is going to make this funny. Next, set up how it is going to be funny, or what actually happens in the next two, shorter lines. Finally, conclude it by making it funny. Usually this last part is what makes a limerick hard because you have to actually make a joke, but I'll be judging it, and I won't be too hard on whether it's funny or to.

The style utilizes end stops. The first two lines should be about the same length, and have complete stops at the end. The last three lines are usually all one sentence broken up into three parts with the last part of the last sentence being as long as the the first two sentences had been in length. That might sound confusing, but take a look at these examples, and you should be able to hear the cadence.

Shadow Poetry: Limerick This one explains how to make a limerick at the top.
Poetry through the Ages: Limerick The explanation on this one is on the next page.
Kidzone: Limerick Another explanation of how to write them, and examples.
Poem Hunter: Limerick This is a list of all Limericks on Poem Hunter

Judging: The poems will be judged based on how limericky the limerick is. I will be checking the look of the poem, and see who gets the best results, so focus on humor and story over syllables and rhymes. It has to look like a limerick, and sound like a limerick.

My nonsensical attempt :

The clock struck eight, and so the man climbed
up to the top of the nursery rhyme!
But on tough words he slipped,
and on his tongue he tripped;
thus he ceded to the verse, and fell out of time.

The little duck was truly a very ducky duck,
So ducky that he had lots of very good luck!
But one day his charm ran out,
When he fell in mud with a sad pout.
It was so bad that he was really quite stuck.

I wanted to read a new short,
But I was soon forced to abort.
For this site is full
just of chapters (how dull!)
And I find I like none of the sort.

Stories for money


I laugh, I am not sold.
"There's no story to be told.
No pig with a hair,
or bear in his lair.
Wait a second is that gold?"

3:00 AM


My mind sits in thought quite inflamed
While I ponder this kiwi so famed
With nary a blink
I struggle and think
Was it this or the bird that was first named?

The Writer
My hands sit still in thought,
Since I write stories quite a lot.
I think about it,
And I sit and sit,
But I never can finish the plot.

My Fat Cat KitKat

There once was an old cat,
Who was way too fat.
In came a mouse,
from under the house.
But alas she couldn’t catch the rat.

There once was an infamous Time Lord,
who oft took companions on board.
With foolhardy glee,
other worlds he would see,
and fight with a spoon, not a sword.

moderator battles

on YWS was a lit. mod.
from training they developed a hit bod.
But in gladiator battle,
they got hit with a saddle,
and were reduced to just sod.


rip fallen mod candidates. the graveyard is vast.

Revenge of the Papers

There once was a boy name Justin
who threw papers into the dustbin.
He cried, he was in vain.
A tree grew after the rain
and punched his face to paper thin.

The Musical Drone (aka I blame @Audy for this)

There once was a cute little drone
Whose dream was to play the trombone.
But it did not have hands
And got banned from the bands,
So it felt unheard and alone.

sk8er boi

There once was a limerick
that I had to write real quick
that was about Avril Lavigne
and the way she would sing
about boys who did cool skate tricks.

There was a young woman from Cork,
Who kept on choking on pork.
Her brother, called Isaac,
Performed the Heimlich,
And shock! Horror! Out came a fork!