(Warning: Ribaldry Abounds)
End this war-making refuse to moan
Sex-strike tease (blue ball squeeze) leave alone
Peace took Athens and Sparta
Through subversive carta
Men cry mercy! erections known
Limerick based on the play Lysistrata by the ‘Father of Comedy’ Aristophanes. Lysistrata convinces the women of Athens and Sparta to end the Peloponnesian War by refusing to have sex with their husbands. The old women take over the Acropolis which houses the treasury so the men can no longer fund the war. Many men show up, with erections, to plead for their wives to grant them sex (and lure them out of the Acropolis). Peace is the name of Lysistrata’s naked handmaid who successfully distracts the sex-crazed men while a new map (carta) is drawn on her body. Once drawn the sides form a new accord and the battle of the sexes also ends. This is linked to the Form for All challenge at dVerse Poets Pub and is my first limerick so I took some liberties. I’m sure I’ll improve with renewed application :P. http://dversepoets.com/2012/03/22/formforall-how-to-write-a-limerick/ After a couple of awfully clever limericks in the comment boxes below I came up with this:
Part 2 (Maybe the chorus of Old Women?):
See man’s dignity stripped for a blow
He wants sex now he’s taut watch the show
Oh he’s craving a tumbler
That abstinent bumbler
We’ll taunt him that groveling schmoe!
Chromapoetica 
Really funny Anna, great use of the limerick form. Excellent play as well.
Thanks, I saw it performed at my college where it was an all female cast with some interesting props including water pistols :o. Glad you enjoyed the humor.
haha nicely done…and some really fun word play as well in this…the blue ball squeeze made me cringe just a bit…and way to tell a story and stay within the form
Thanks Brian, I find I can only work in form if I find a way to push back, sorry for the cringe :).
Clever concept for a limerick! I hope you’ll give my weekly Limerick-Off challenges a try.
Thanks for hosting and writing an excellent article.
Why this is so good it’s esoterically gelastic! The character’s names add to the word play and it’s a fine romp all the way through. Hope you write a bunch more, you’ll keep getting better and better. Always admire your mental acuity in all you write. Wow!
Oh Gay, you’ve gone and made my poetic day! Also thank you for gelastic, a new to me word, always so exciting!
Oh good, you didn’t take it as though it were sarcastic. I’m relieved.
Also Gay, you’ve given me the gift of form, something I avoided until you came along at dVerse . Thank you!
Dear Anna,
I re-read my note and I think it might sound sarcastic. Every time I try to be clever, it goes haywire. I did mean to genuinely compliment you on a fantastic write and tell you I do admire you as a poet. I don’t know why when I write things I think would be funny in conversation, always come off weird written. It’s a talent to write that way, and I think I don’t have it.
Yes, intent is so hard to read without all the visual cues we normally receive. Don’t worry, I assume the best intent, especially from you :)!
I didn’t know Greeks had blue balls!
Haha! It’s not widely circulated.
Aristophanes mewls with applause!
Lysistrata’s just sharpened her claws.
With a limerick’s bite
She’s voracious tonight –
And it’s not mice but men in her jaws.
AWESOME!!!
Part 2 (Maybe the chorus of Old Women?):
See man’s dignity stripped for a blow
He wants sex now he’s taut watch the show
Oh he’s craving a tumbler
That abstinent bumbler
We’ll taunt him that groveling schmoe!
So the cats are afoot, on a mission;
Such a chorus of mews in derision.
Lysistrata, this rocks!
Men fear being eunuchs
So capitulate to circumcision.
Haha, my favorite, ‘such a chorus of mews in derision’ and the groan worthy rhyme of rock/eunuch; again I bow to your superior limerick-ing!
Anna, you wrote, “…I’m sure I’ll improve…”
You don’t need to improve, Ma’am. You’ve gone and DONE it! (And thanks for the explanation. I stopped with Iliad and Odyssey! (Odyssey in classic Greek!).
Have fun, girl!
Wow, I wish I could read Greek (so much to do so little time)! Wonderful to know you do and thanks for the marvelous comment.
Oh, my, this is so clever, ancient Greek theatre with modern limerick bawdiness. Brava!
Thank you for stopping by to read my offering!
Thank you Patti, a little bawdiness seemed appropriate :).
How did you know this is one of my favorite all-time shows? Great limerick on a a classic.
Oh yay :), thanks for the encouragement.
So clever. And erudite. K.
Thanks K :).
I mean that in the best of senses! I am always very impressed when I come over here! K.
I always appreciate your visits and comments! I find the prompts make me feel the most vulnerable because I usually have more time between creation and exhibition so to speak. More revision time, more time to settle into the idea of making something public, sometimes these challenges feel like timed chess in the park while I’m still learning the rules :). Thanks for the encouragement I am deeply grateful.
Yes, I absolutely know how you feel–I tend to do a fair amount of revision generally, so it is both freeing but also aggravating to do something quickly for a prompt. Aggravating because once it’s out there, it feels (to me) kind of hard to change. And one feels quite exposed later if you decide you don’t like it, or could have made something better. But what helps (me at least) is the sense that I’ll just do another post relatively soon to cover up all the old ones!
Yes, the buried under better poetry defense, I like it! Liberty always comes with a price but I suppose it’s better to be brave, thank you kindly for the laugh :).
good for you to use our creativeness for awareness . brava
Thank you Leah, nice to meet you.
That’s really funny and clever. I’m gonna have to check out about this play too. 🙂
It’s one of his few surviving and a lot of fun to attend. I always look forward to your comments :).
Quite simply, classic, in every sense.
Thank you James, that’s a lovely comment.
Clever stuff Anna – well done!
Anna :o]
Thanks Anna :)!
Anna- I like how you’ve made this form your own… made me smile.
Thanks Laurie, so glad it made you smile :).
Ah, I remember reading Lysistrata
The poor men struck like piñatas
If women they crave
Surely they’ll cave
But in Greece a handsome man was not persona non grata.
Well played! I see you and Samuel are tit for tat poets :).
His comments were inspiring 😉
Part 2:
See man’s dignity stripped for a blow
He wants sex now he’s taut watch the show
Oh he’s craving a tumbler
That abstinent bumbler
We’ll taunt him that groveling schmoe!
very cool…and love that you also give us the background…what a story…what a limerick…great anna
Thanks Claudia, though Aristophanes gets most of the credit for his brilliant battle of the sexes :)!
Ha ha- this had me howling! Especially the last lines! Love it.
Why thank you, I had fun!
This is interesting Anna! A bit of history and taking jabs at them. The war of sexes might just explode again! Hilarious!
Hank
That it may but let’s hope not ;)! Thanks Hank!
while I enjoyed the intellectualism of the first one, the second limerick is dead on with its simple wit, imho.
Thanks Sheila, I always appreciate your feedback. The men I read it to today preferred the second one too :).
I love your Part 2 in particular!
Thanks, then I’m glad I went to the trouble of writing another and editing the first post :)!