April Forms Challenge - Still Running Until 28th!

A limerick is a form of poetry, especially one in five-line anapestic meter with a strict rhyme scheme (AABBA)
It is sometimes obscene with humorous intent.
The first, second and fifth lines are usually longer than the third and fourth.
The oldest attested text in this form is a Latin prayer by Thomas Aquinas of the 13th century.

Sit vitiorum meorum evacuatio
   Concupiscentae et libidinis exterminatio,
   Caritatis et patientiae,
   Humilitatis et obedientiae,
   Omniumque virtutum augmentatio.

The form appeared in England in the early years of the 18th century.
It was popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th century, although he did not use the term.
The following limerick is of unknown origin:

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.

Gershon Legman, who compiled the largest and most scholarly anthology, held that the true limerick as a folk form is always obscene.
From a folkloric point of view, the form is essentially transgressive; violation of taboo is part of its function.



The standard form of a limerick is a stanza of five lines, with the first, second and fifth rhyming with one another and having three feet of three syllables each.
The shorter third and fourth lines also rhyming with each other, but having only two feet of three syllables.
The defining "foot" of a limerick's meter is usually the anapaest, (ta-ta-TUM).
Missing a weak syllable at the beginning of a line and extra-syllable rhyme can make limericks appear amphibrachic (ta-TUM-ta).
The first line traditionally introduces a person and a place, with the place appearing at the end of the first line and establishing the rhyme scheme for the second and fifth lines.
In early limericks, the last line was often essentially a repeat of the first line, although this is no longer customary.
The most prized limericks incorporate a kind of twist, which may be revealed in the final line or lie in the way the rhymes are often intentionally tortured, or both.
Many limericks show some form of internal rhyme, alliteration or assonance, or some element of word play.
Verses in limerick form are sometimes combined with a refrain to form a limerick song, a traditional humorous drinking song often with obscene verses.



You may submit more than one entry.
Entries into the contest submissions folder please.
For this purpose mature content is allowed (it is a limerick after all).
Winners will be decided via vote.
_{I reserve the right to edit these rules.}



1st May - 28th May -:- Writing Time
29th May - 30th May -:- Voting Time (Via poll on MagicalJoey 's profile)
31st May -:- Champion Revealed



Don't hesitate to ask!


J