Last year we asked people to send
The BDN a limerick, or ten
All in correct meter
We asked you, our dear readers,
To pick up a paper and pen
In March it is custom, it’s thought
To feel Irish, even if you are not
And you wrote us some verse,
Some better, some worse,
And we picked the best ones that we got
So we’d like you to try it again
Send a poem to us, if you can
We’d prefer them all ages
No swears in our pages
But that’s the only topic we ban
Get creative — feel free to expound
About matters trivial and profound
Limericks should be fun
And clever with puns
And have the right rhyme scheme and sound
We’ll publish them St. Patrick’s Day
And our readers can then have their say
You can vote for the best
That shines over the rest
Lunch at Geaghan’s is how we’ll repay
So get cracking! You’ve got the next week
To show off your poetic technique
There’s five lines to work with
We ask you, Maine wordsmiths
To wow us with limericks unique
The rules
• You can send up to three limericks, along with your full name, hometown and phone number. Limericks may be submitted online, or by mail postmarked no later than Tuesday, March 13, sent to Limerick Contest ℅ Bangor Daily News, 491 Main St. Bangor 04401.
• They must be in the correct meter and rhyme scheme: five lines, with an AABBA rhyme scheme, in an anapestic rhythm. Any limericks that are submitted without those three elements will be disqualified.
• Limericks must be PG-rated — sadly, no dirty limericks, as we are a family newspaper — and any poems that use profanity or R-rated language will be disqualified.
• The deadline for submissions is 10 a.m. Thursday, March 15. The qualifying limericks will be published in the Bangor Daily News for the Saturday, March 17, edition.
• The winner of the limerick contest will be decided in a reader vote that will run from the evening of Friday, March 16, through the morning of Monday, March 19. The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Geaghan’s Restaurant & Pub in downtown Bangor.
