Limericku: Poem & Process

Poem & Process is an ongoing series: one poem, and reflections on writing it.

Limericku

Once a man Mike, who
liked to write quick limericks
hidden in haiku.

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This is more of a proof of concept than a poem. I asked myself: can I fit an entire limerick, with its AABBA rhyme scheme, into a 5-7-5 syllable haiku? Yes, I can.

I remember this took quite a while to puzzle out. I wanted it to be recognisably a limerick, with a classic opening line introducing a person to rhyme from. Once I got “Mike, who” as the rhyme for “haiku”, I knew I had to also include the word “limerick” to complete the self-referential nature of it. “quick limericks” also serve nicely as the traditionally shorter 3rd and 4th lines of a limerick.

So, I think it technically works. Technically.

I’m not sure it does much else, this poem. I wish it was funnier, or had more of a punch at the end - like a good limerick does. Perhaps it does something more like what a haiku can do: provoke a sense of contemplation and reflection - an ‘oh’, rather than an ‘ok then’.

That may be to give this piece too much credit. Really, at the time, I was simply motivated by solving the self-imposed limerick-haiku puzzle.

Should I have put my limericku in my last book of poems? Not sure. Who is this poem for, if I was chiefly making it for my own interest in doing challenging things with poetry forms? You? Do you like it?

My last book came out in 2019, so I probably wrote this in 2017-18 - which is a long time ago in my life. Back then, I very much wanted to be seen as a clever poet - was deeply invested in this as a large part of my identity and self-esteem. I was somewhat desperate to prove it to anyone who would listen - to show off, really. I more readily notice this part of me rearing its big head from time to time, keen to share how much it knows and impress you with its intellect. It’s a posture I can still slip into, of course - and though the heady rush of superiority can feel good, I know that really it disconnects me from myself and others.

I still want to be clever and intellectual - those aspects of myself are important and valuable. I still love revelling in the delight of intricate and witty wordplay. My desire now is to work with this from a place of equanimity: to match the dignity of accessing and sharing these aspects of myself with as strong a sense of humility. To stay connected to more of my whole self, and in that way to hopefully stay connected with others.