Writing Prompt

Pier 21 Prompts

Second prompt: Nautical Limerick

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

Hello, everyone! It’s February 21, which means I can reveal our second monthly prompt in the series Pier 21 Prompts.

Does it feel like spring yet where you live? In Germany, we’ve been seeing warmer and wetter days in which the daffodils and crocusses are rising up from their wintry beds. It’s a welcome sign that spring is on its way.

I’m not exactly sure why, but I’ve always associated the limerick with spring. Maybe it’s because of this poem’s typical upbeat rhythm or the humor that’s often involved. Limericks just feel light to me and I experience this feeling of lightness when I can finally stop wearing my heavy winter coat everywhere and the sun doesn’t go down at 5 PM.

With only five lines, limericks follow an AABBA rhyme pattern. Here’s one by Oliver Herford (1860–1935) that I quite enjoy:

There was a young lady of Twickenham
Whose shoes were too tight to walk quick in ’em.
She came back from a walk
Looking whiter than chalk
And took ’em both off and was sick in ’em.

So, I’d love to read some limericks from you, specifically limericks with a nautical theme.