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Home Limerick

National Poetry Month Limerick Challenge

March 12, 2026
in Limerick, Poetry, Poetry Challenge
A A
127
cover for A Book of Nonsense by limerick writer Edward Lear (public domain)

cover for A Book of Nonsense by limerick writer Edward Lear (public domain)

 

Limerick Poetry Challenge

Write a limerick (learn how to write one here) about a famous poet or about writing poetry and post it in the comments section below. This challenge is brought to you by poet Roy E. Peterson, who wrote the three below sample limericks.

 

Wordsworth Love Daffodils

William Wordsworth well loved daffodils,
And once saw a bunch dancing up hills.
_Perhaps he was glad,
_Or else he was mad.
I wonder what kind were his pills.

 

Making Ink

When the poet’s pen lost all its ink,
He went to make more in his sink.
_He got some charcoal
_He smashed in the bowl
With vinegar, quick as a wink.

 

Poet Agents

The poet deemed his poems were best,
And decided to give them a test.
_He hired an agent
_And made his prepayment.
But they languished along with the rest.

 

 

Post your National Poetry Month Limerick in the comments below.

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Comments 127

  1. Aaron Nydegger says:
    4 months ago

    or

    METRE MAID
    To prepare your poetic bouquet,
    You need names that are easy to say,
    If you’re trying to wrest,
    Out a good anapest,
    Try out Edna St. Vincent Millay?

    Reply
  2. Aaron Nydegger says:
    4 months ago

    Or alternatively,

    METRE MAID
    To prepare your poetic bouquet,
    You need names that are easy to say,
    If you’re trying to wrest,
    Out a good anapest,
    Try out Edna St. Vincent Millay?

    Reply
    • Aaron Nydegger says:
      4 months ago

      Thanks, Roy. I hate it when I shoot from the hip and immediately think of a better phrasing. I can’t believe how poliferimeric you are.

      Reply
      • Roy Eugene Peterson says:
        4 months ago

        Aaron, you are not alone. Often, I have the same problem. After I have sent something, my mind suddenly finds better words or phrasing. Thank you for assessing my production from my short bio. As of today, I have written 6,856 poems.

        Reply
        • Ganga Unnikrishnan says:
          1 month ago

          How many limericks

          Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    4 months ago

    NOISELESS PATIENT SPIDER (Walt Whitman)
    By Roy E. Peterson

    I spied a noiseless patient spider.
    He was hanging beside my cider.
    When I took a drink,
    He fell in sink.
    Then I pushed it in the grinder.

    Reply
  4. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    4 months ago

    MESSAGE, RHYME, AND METER
    By Roy E. Peterson

    The message is what makes poems burn.
    Then its rhyme and meter in turn.
    The message brings light.
    Why else would we write.
    It’s the message that makes others yearn.

    WRITING FREE VERSE
    By Roy E. Peterson

    The poet thought he’d try free verse.
    In his words he soon would immerse.
    Like moderns do
    His words were pooh pooh.
    Nothing he’d written was worse.

    WRITING ONLY IN IAMBIC METER
    By Roy E. Peterson

    The poet wrote only iambic,
    Which made him depressively manic
    He wrote a trochee
    And then had to pee.
    The word had caused his mind to panic.

    Reply
    • Urszula Marciniak says:
      4 months ago

      If there’s no toilet nearby, we panic. Anyone who’s experienced this knows this. A powerful poem 🙂

      Reply
      • Roy Eugene Peterson says:
        4 months ago

        Agreed, Urszula! Thank you for commenting.

        Reply
  5. Urszula Marciniak says:
    4 months ago

    The Abyss of Love

    Without Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe,
    standing by a well with a pendulum and a doe,
    quickly drank a pint of porter,
    then jumped into the water,
    searching for the still-unborn Marilyn Monroe.

    Reply
  6. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    4 months ago

    Urszula, what an imaginative limerick! That is something Poe might have done! Sorry to be so late seeing this.

    Reply
    • Urszula Marciniak says:
      3 months ago

      I loved reading Poe. I think it’s time to get back into it 🙂 I noticed I wasn’t the only one who reached for this author. Thank you for such a kind comment. It’s been a while since I wrote limericks, and this is my first one in English 🙂

      Reply
  7. Ganga Unnikrishnan says:
    2 months ago

    A worthy wordsmith

    The words of William Wordsworth though old
    Are really worth their weight in gold.
    They’re widely recognized,
    Easily cognized,
    And at worst will bring us joy, untold!

    Reply
  8. Ganga Unnikrishnan says:
    2 months ago

    Insect instincts

    At times I have a bee in my bonnet
    to write a haiku, ode or sonnet,
    or something of that kind
    whatever comes to mind
    and just end up mad as a hornet!

    Reply
    • Urszula Marciniak says:
      2 months ago

      Intriguing. It’s impossible to read it and not react 🙂
      And if we don’t write these words down right away, they’ll disappear forever.

      Reply
      • Ganga Unnikrishnan says:
        1 month ago

        Thank you so much Ursula

        Reply
        • Ganga Unnikrishnan says:
          1 month ago

          Urzsula

          Reply
          • Urszula Marciniak says:
            1 month ago

            I love limericks. I’m always impressed by the ingenuity.

            Reply
            • Ganga Unnikrishnan says:
              1 month ago

              Your ‘Abyss of love ‘ is funny and has depth . You inspire me to write one about Poe ,Urszula

              Reply
              • Urszula Marciniak says:
                1 month ago

                Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m curious about your interpretation of Poe.

                Reply
  9. Jan Mennite says:
    1 month ago

    Cass

    There once was a teacher named Cass
    who expelled much malodorous gas.
    One day after starting,
    she couldn’t stop farting;
    then everyone ran from the class.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant says:
      1 month ago

      Beautifully written and hilarious, Jan! You have inspired me to have a go. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Jan Mennite says:
        1 month ago

        Thanks so much, Susan. I made that one for my grandson who so enjoys all things farty.

        Reply
        • Ganga Unnikrishnan says:
          1 month ago

          Unable to bear the fragrance, Jan

          Reply
          • Jan Mennite says:
            1 month ago

            Me, too, Ganga. Thanks for commenting. 🙂

            Reply
            • Urszula Marciniak says:
              1 month ago

              The most important thing is that the limerick section came back to life after the break, gained strength and flavor 🙂

              Reply
              • Ganga Unnikrishnan says:
                1 month ago

                And odour!

                Reply
                • Urszula Marciniak says:
                  1 month ago

                  Delicious 🙂

                  Reply
  10. Urszula Marciniak says:
    1 month ago

    Literature Still Alive

    Professor Tutka met with Szaniawski in Warsaw.
    All the readers were pleasantly shocked by what they saw.
    The hero of the stories bowed his head.
    That would be fine, but the author is dead.
    The crows flew down and began cawing: caw, caw, caw, caw.

    * Professor Tutka – a character from a series of short stories by Polish writer Jerzy Szaniawski. I recommend it.

    Reply
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