Welcome to my regular Wednesday poetry corner, brought to you by Three Word Wednesday and One Shot Wednesday. Today's words are breeze, mellow, tickle.
Earthquake, tsunami and meltdown,
Poison breeze, feel the cesium pelt down,
Has death's burning sickle
Stilled mellow laugh's tickle,
Fukushima forever a felled town?
This week's limerick isn't at all humorous. I've often wondered if the limerick form, which is traditionally associated with snappy one-liners - funny, ribald or both - can be put to a more serious use. Can the limerick express serious emotion, or is the reader so conditioned to expect something funny that they can't help but wait for the punchline?
Donate to help Japan (links cribbed from OneShotWednesday) : Unicef, Mercy corps, Red Cross , Poets for Tsunami Relief
===== Feel free to comment on this or any other post.
it is hard when you are conditioned for the humor...its hard in light of the circumstances...i thinka littlehope and joy is just what is needed...
ReplyDeleteI believe that art often involves using traditional tools in alternative ways - and this is a great example. It makes the reader think a little more, read a bit more slowly, ponder the thoughts and images you've written a little longer. Great poem.
ReplyDeleteStrong words..'poison breeze'..particularly powerful..Jae
ReplyDeleteVery well done.
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of the scheme of the limerick form. Yours builds to a serious consideration of future ramifications of what has occurred. Good use of form and altering the notion of what is normally thought to be associated with the form.
ReplyDelete@ Brian: Maybe my main limitation as a poet is that I'm conditioned for the humor. I use it to enhance the good things in life and to cope with the bad.
ReplyDelete@ Apple: Great thought, thanks. I've heard that great art comes from two things: doing what everyone else does, only better, OR doing what no one else does. Not sure where I fall on that spectrum.
@ jaerose: Thank you!
@ Deborah: I'm glad you liked it, Deborah.
@ dustus: Funny or otherwise, I feel at home with a limerick, for whatever reason. Thanks for reading!
I too tackled Japan in my 3WWW, but no where near as lyrically. Well done. The limerick, although not funny, worked very well!
ReplyDeleteSheilagh Lee: I think this is weigh heavy on a lot of minds.With all that is going on in Japan.We still haven't heard if my daughter's friend and family are okay.
ReplyDeleteI was once challenged by a teacher in highschool to make a depressing limerick as he believed it wasn't doable.
ReplyDeleteIf he wasn't retired and off in who-knows-where old people land, I would show him this as a long-coming retort.
All the more impressive due to the light and playful nature of this week's words.
Not at all humorous, but timely and meaningful. The world does grieve on so many levels. Mine is much more lighthearted:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2011/03/16/lucky-to-call-you-friend/
Good, effective work.
ReplyDeleteClearly the poem did not have the bouncy humour of a normal limerick.
ReplyDeleteThe implications of the disaster may well be responsible for setting back the recovery from the financial crisis and to make us rethink the world's future development.
Pity us poor pawns.
You used the prompts and posted exactly what was both felt and needed.
ReplyDeleteGood verse... with forceful thoughts... I enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteॐ शांति ॐ
Om Shanti Om
May peace be… pray for People of Japan
________
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/03/whispers-love-and-insignificance.html
Connect me at Twitter @VerseEveryDay
Any form of literary comment on things like this is good. What we don't need are politician's statements.
ReplyDelete@ Elaine: It's a watershed moment, casting a long shadow over Japan for many years to come. A limerick is the least I can do - thanks for reading!
ReplyDelete@ Fear Not: Best wishes to you and yours. Most of Japan seems to be recovering and restabilizing, at least physically.
@ J.W.: This is exactly the kind of thing I struggle against when doing something like this. No one reads a haiku and then mutters, "Huh. What a lousy haiku - it wasn't very funny."
@ Kim: The words were certainly set up to allow for a more happy piece, weren't they? Maybe next week I'll be back in that vein.
@ Steve: Thank you!
@ oldegg: With luck, everyone will take this as an opportunity for reflection on what we're doing and how we're doing it.
@ Ren: Thank you!
@ Shashi: I'm glad you liked it - thanks!
@ Old Altonian: I just hope that things resolve soon. A crisis is only truly past when people feel comfortable joking about it.
Thank you for your non humorous limerick. Many tools can be used incorrectly with great results ;)
ReplyDeleteThe Poetry Bin