Life, According to Limericks.

Wikipedia says that the history of limericks is debatable and uncertain. What is known, for certain, is that limericks started out in England and Ireland. Most people in early ages England and Ireland couldn't read. But they could memorize a five line poem that would keep them grinning all day. There would often be competitions to see who could come up with the most limericks, grossest limericks, funniest limericks, or best limericks to put to music.

And, of of course, let us not forget that many of the limericks you remember best probably were either off-color, bawdy, or both. Think about, "There once was a man from Nantucket."To prove a point, can you almost immediately come up with a second line that rhymes with Nantucket?

The secret to composing a good limerick is that you think it's good. Just you. If you want to write a funny limerick, write it and don't ever explain the joke. If someone else gets it, they get it. If you're trying to be insightful and profound, write the limerick as best you can, remembering that you only have five lines. That's not many lines or words to explain profound concepts.

For instance, here's someone who tried to explain the theory or relativity with a five-line limerick:

Or, maybe you're attracted to clever plays on words like this:

Or, it could be you like the "word to the wise" or "warning" kind of limerick:

For me, I really like that you can start anywhere with a limerick and the little poems often seem to just about write themselves. Sometimes, it's fun just to choose a word at random and see what happens. One line becomes two, two becomes three, and suddenly you have a five-line poem that you have created. And you don't ever need to explain what it means. If it's an inside joke, it can stay that way.

Here's what happened when I started with the word "Memphis." (Note: there were several limericks that emerged that were not suitable for this family environment).

There once was a tall man from Memphis

Who set out to show us his genius

He counted fingers and toes

Then cyphered and drove

And found he could only spell genus

Okay. So you might not think that's very good. But that's the point of a limerick. It can be your ultimate inside joke. It doesn't matter if anybody else gets the joke; you can clap yourself on the back in congratulations for your humor and cleverness.

Next time you're working on a writing project - and the words just won't come - take a break and play with limericks for a few minutes. If you feel you need some instruction, there are lots of good resources, including the first book of limericks, "Book of Nonsense," by Edward Lear in 1846. But if you don't want to work that hard, this little video, "How To Write A Limerick", available on YouTube, could get you on your way to producing profound and not-so-profound limericks in a couple minutes.

And you don't ever need to explain the joke.

I know someone who writes limrics all day long. Hell, half of his work day is spent spinning off five-line nonsense poems. And then the leaves them around and watches how people react when they find one. Sometime these "finders" laugh, other times they groan. And each time he produces a limrick - and each time he observes someone reacting to one of his silly creations - he gets another jolt of fun.

You can do it too.

Here are three classic, but silly, limricks. Read them. Then write your own. If you feel like it, print it off and leave on the customer service counter at a bank so you can watch how people react.f you want to take a crack at a five-line poem that makes you laughe point is, a limrick doesn't need to be good