I love limericks. They can be rude, silly and clever at the same time.
I’m trying to get my 9 year old to write them. Here are some I wrote for her:
***
About her
She’s smart, curious and kind
Always a smile. A beautiful mind.
Loves her art. Loves her books.
Loves blackberries and trying to cook.
Stay forever young, away from this grind.
***
About her favourite stuffed animal
My panda’s name is Po š¼
But nowhere does he go
He love bamboo leaves
But his laziness is my pet peeve
But I do love him so
***
She started learning about Orangutans
Orangutans š¦§ are gentle
Their poachers make me mental
Beautiful relatives of humans
Unworthy of you, we have proven
I wish I could be more influential
***
Arguing with her about pigeons
Pigeons, pigeons all the time š¦
What’s going on in this head of mine?
Why do I ignore other birds in the garden?
Dearie me, I do beg your pardon!
Tits, robins and parrots; thy I decline.
***
About her favourite character
The boy who lived said Dumbeldore š§♂️
Born to defeat evil Lord Voldemort
Impulsive, loyal and kind
He knew fear was all in the mind
A Hogwarts š° legend forever more.
***
My son’s fairy tales
Big bad wolf, three little pigs š·
These are the story baby digs
Hansel & Gretel, Red Riding Hood
Gingerbread man, sure all good š
My playlist on YouTube is so big!
***
Speaking of limericks, I was speaking to Ma yesterday and she told me the most fascinating story. My maternal grandmother’s mother (Boju’s mother) apparently was adept at writing limericks in Bangla. She got married at the age of 14. At the time, that was relatively old and hence she was a bit more educated than other girls of the time. The story goes that when she and her husband has gone to see PC Sorcar (senior) i.e. Protul Chandra Sorcar’s magic show in Calcutta. PC Sorcar had developed a new magic trick where he would ask to be blindfolded, and then ask a member of the audience volunteer to come up on the stage and write something on a blackboard which he would proceed to read out whilst still blindfolded. In this instance, my great grandmother volunteered and wrote a limerick impromptu rhyming ‘protul’ with ‘oprotul’ (unique). The magician was so moved by these five lines of rhyme that he apparently fell at her feet and went on to extol that this is what a Bangali nari should be like. My great grandfather who was typically conservative as Bengali bhadralok of the time were, took great exception to PC Sorcar touching his wife. I’m guessing this must be in the late 1940’s or 1950’s. Sadly her notebooks filled with limericks are lost with time. She has passed on the limerick bug to one of her sons - the late Brigadier Shymal Sen. Again I don’t have any from my great uncle.