Sheila Charles LIMERICKS
In the past, at the library,
A competition was run
For people to write limericks.
I took part in two. It was fun.
The first time I wrote a political one.
It didn’t get anywhere.
There were lots of contestants
And theirs were better, to be fair.
The second time I entered,
I forgot what the subject was now,
But I wrote about unemployment
Even for folk with a degree. Anyhow-
When the award came to be given out,
The man in charge read mine out
And added, “This will be a student.
There isn’t a shadow of doubt.”
I felt SO embarrassed standing up
And admitting, “No sir, it’s ME.”
(I was certainly over sixty –
Not a student, you’d have to agree.)
However, I decided to say,
“My friend’s children are students so
I understand their predicament
Being highly qualified but jobless.” I know!
The prize, as you can imagine,
Was a book. I treasure it still.
It’s entitled Fiordland Underwater.
The photos even now, give me a thrill.
AND I got my name in the paper
Though it is really run-of-the mill.
Since then, I’ve wound nothing for anything.
It’s been, I afraid, all downhill!
illustration by ume-nori
