Contest: Trail Inspired Limericks

Are you looking for a lighthearted distraction from the pandemic?

Limericks are the answer! These short, silly poems offer a much-needed dash of humor to an otherwise uncertain situation.

Try your hand at writing an Ice Age Trail inspired limerick, (or two, or more) and enter them into our contest (in honor of National Poetry Month).

Your limerick could be an ode to mosquitoes, permethrin, ticks, yellow blazes, eskers, or kettle lakes! (Or wherever else your inspiration is found!)

They’re easy enough to write – get the kids involved!

How to Write a Limerick:

A limerick is a five-line poem that consists of a single stanza, an AABBA rhyme scheme, and whose subject is a short, pithy tale or description.

Limericks follow a very strict composition structure:

• Consist of a single stanza
• Consist of exactly five lines
• Employ one rhyme on the first, second, and fifth lines
• Employ a second rhyme on the third and fourth lines

Here’s an example of an Ice Age Trail inspired limerick:

My goal is to hike on The Trail
Every morning at ten, without fail.
I’ll put on my shoes
Get rid of my blues
And trek over hill and down dale.

(Courtesy of Dave Lonsdorf)