Limericks

Our tutor announced that she was going to introduce us to some Greek Poetry next week and I’m afraid my mind turned to something more trivial than I suspect she is thinking about…

Picture from http://ellysaysopa.com/ used with acknowledgement.

The Limerick is a fine English traditional form of poem, always amusing (if done properly) and sometimes ridiculous, subversive or just plain vulgar. It’s a rather simple form of verse using 5 lines with a strict rhyming scheme a-a-b-b-a and a standard number of syllables (not always strictly followed) in each line 9-9-5-5-9.

Here’s the earliest known example from 1880….

There was a young rustic named Mallory,
who drew but a very small salary.
When he went to the show,
his purse made him go
to a seat in the uppermost gallery.

And a more vulgar one by myself (suitably edited)….

A cheery old soul from Nantucket,
tried his best to catch fish in a bucket.
but fish came there none,
and deprived of his fun,
the cheery old soul cried out “F**K IT!”

I asked one of my Facebook contacts (thanks, Tonia!) if there was such a thing in Greek, as it seemed to me that the Greek language should be quite good for this type of rhyme. She responded with a selection (too many to include here), including some by  Γιώργος Σεφέρης, who published a collection of Limericks and drawings for children (ΠΟΙΗΜΑΤΑ ΜΕ ΖΩΓΡΑΦΙΕΣ ΣΕ ΜΙΚΡΑ ΠΑΙΔΙΑ).

Here is my attempt at a Limerick in Greek, concerning a daughter in Crete who likes vegetables a great deal. It may help to know that the Lasithi Plateau is a farming area of Crete where vegetables are grown….

Ήταν μία κορή στην Κρήτη,
Έμενε στο κέντρο το νησί,
Τησ άρεσe πατάτεσ
Και φρέσκοι ντολμάδεσ,
βρέθηκαν κοντά στο Λασίθι.

The last line is a bit klunky in phrasing, I think. Tonia suggested “και ‘έτρεχε παντού για να τους βρει” which may be better but breaks the 9 syllable rule… Anyway, why not try your own? You can always contribute them here or on my Facebook page.