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n‘Tisnthe birthday of Edward Lear
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nWhosenlimericks brought us great cheer.
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n Henhad such a style
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n Henmakes us all smile
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nSonlet’s honor him from far and near!
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Limericksnare five-line poems with the rhyming scheme you see in my littlenattempt here: Lines 1,2, and 5 rhyme, and Lines 3 and 4 rhyme. Thesenshort poems usually have a bouncy rhythm that goes something likenthis: La-LA-la-la-LA-la-la-LA, and they are often funny or at leastnpunny. (Bad puns abound!)
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nEdwardnLear, born on this date in 1812, made limericks popular with his Booknof Nonsense, which featured bunches of the short poems. n
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nWhynare these poems called limericks? Apparently a popular limericknmentioned the third largest city in Ireland—which is namednLimerick—and somehow the name got applied to the poems themselves. n
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nReadn’em!
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nYouncan read one of Lear’s limericks here:
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nTherenwas an Old Man with a beard,
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n Whonsaid, “It is just as I feared!
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n –TwonOwls and a Hen,
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n FournLarks and a Wren,
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n Havenall built their nests in my beard!”
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![](https://i0.wp.com/4.bp.blogspot.com/-chWb3eE75b4/T6hDwgzGFaI/AAAAAAAAG68/4lNnsGioQmQ/s320/limerick+beard.jpg?resize=320%2C154)
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nAnmore modern poet who has published limericks is Ogden Nash. Here isnone of his:
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![](https://i0.wp.com/2.bp.blogspot.com/-esX3s9AqjMM/T6hDwASuqzI/AAAAAAAAG60/OYgJR0Z1MIw/s1600/colored+puma.jpg?w=696)
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n Anjolly young fellow from Yuma
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n Toldnan elephant joke to a puma;
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n Nownhis skeleton lies
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n Beneathnhot western skies
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n –Thenpuma had no sense of huma.
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nMynfavorite limerick is this one by Graham Lester:
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n IsnAlgebra a fruitless endeavor?
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n It seems they’ve been tryingnforever
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n To find x, y, and z
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n And it’s quite clear tonme:
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n If they’ve not found them yet, then they’ll never!
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![](https://i0.wp.com/3.bp.blogspot.com/-TAp8yltbCJg/T6hDvszhAXI/AAAAAAAAG6k/6UhYsgdsPE8/s320/algebra.jpg?resize=320%2C240)
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Readnmore of Lester’s limericks here.
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Brownielocksnhas some limericks online. Here’s one that’s pretty cool:
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![](https://i0.wp.com/2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qyxz5IeA--4/T6hDv1CHORI/AAAAAAAAG6s/g3VT2qKmjtA/s200/colored+can.jpg?resize=200%2C197)
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n Ancanner, exceedingly canny,
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n Onenmorning remarked to his granny,
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n “Ancanner can can
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n Anythingnthat he can;
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n Butna canner can’t can a can, can he?”
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nWriten’em!
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Trynyour hand at writing a limerick. Author Bruce Lansky can help.
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nAlsonon this date:
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![](https://i0.wp.com/2.bp.blogspot.com/-3jjPWNQ-P38/T6g35taNDCI/AAAAAAAAG6E/RcxHcF5lMHo/s1600/Georgia+Black+Sea.jpg?w=696)
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nSt. Andrea’s Day in the nation of Georgia
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![](https://i0.wp.com/3.bp.blogspot.com/-HfAUxlTS4Co/T6g358svPTI/AAAAAAAAG6M/6QzoqBs7ch4/s1600/Nurse+Nightingale.jpg?w=696)
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nNurse Florence Nightingale’s birthday
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![](https://i0.wp.com/2.bp.blogspot.com/-QUXE3-M69tE/T6g36UafWgI/AAAAAAAAG6U/TXQJo4yZn1M/s200/Nurse+poster.jpg?resize=129%2C200)
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nInternational Nurses Day