This week's topic: Anything you want.
Call it lazy, call it giving you the creative freedom to write whatever you want to write about, but this week's prompt has no set topic. Though I would highly recommend writing a limerick for this week's prompt (see below), you're free to submit any piece of poetry you want to in this thread.
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This week's optional requirement: Write a limerick.
The limerick is probably one of the best known forms of poetry. With their often comical and/or bawdy contents and simple rhyming and metric schemes, they're often easy to read, and easy to remember, and even most elementary school students can recite a couple of them (albeit often not within earshot of any attentive parents). However, despite the relative ubiquity of limericks, the rules for writing them are often quite loose. In terms of a short summary, I personally quite like the following limerick, written by an unknown author:
The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.
So the limerick is both a humorous verse, in a tightly packed space, that often has a bit of a bawdy undertone. In terms of a bit more detailed explanation, the limerick often exists of five lines, containing a aabba rhyming scheme (as in, lines 1,2, and 5 rhyme, as do lines 3 and 4). Lines 1,2, and 5 are thereby longer (contain more syllables) than lines 3 and 4. The first two and the last lines don't have to be of the same length, but they are usually around 8-10 syllables long, while the third and fourth ones are usually around 5-6 syllables long.
In terms of metre, most limericks have some form of metric scheme (the above example makes plenty use of anapests), but these usually differ from poem to poem. Most limericks make use of some combination of iambs (da-DUM) and anapests (da-da-DUM), but this is not a hard rule, and I think most people just go with what sounds right to them, or what sounds like other limericks they've heard.
However, the most important part of any limerick is that it at least makes some attempt to be funny. As I personally like somewhat satirical/sarcastic/cynical poetry, my attempt at limericks for this exercise is:
I once wrote a tale nice and gory
With choices of greatness and glory
Despite the young traffic
It was quite pornographic
And I dubbed it a Warrior Cats Story.
I know, it's not a great example... Anyhow, that's all for this week. The only thing you have to remember for this exercise is:
Limerick: Five-line poem with an aabba rhyming scheme, with the third and fourth lines shorter than the other ones, and with often humorous/bawdy intent.
Have fun writing!
