Limerick Contest 2018. . . And the Winner is?

It’s time to announce the winner of the 2018 Limerick Contest. This year we thought we’d build the suspense way past when you’d even remember entering or reading the entries. We’ve waited a full season just to make sure. Also, our lives have been overcrowded with the joys of abundant flower harvests, and new grandparenthood. Our buckets and burp rags surely overflow.

Hint: One of these two beauties is the winner!

This year’s theme was . . . hold on, I’m going to need to look it up on my July timeline: “Summer Festivities”. Today, November 12, when the last of the leaves are blowing down in advance of tonight’s first snow, is a great day to hear these again. Here’s a link to the post if you’d like to get sweaty reading them all.

We always do a first round rubric with all the limericks, and the ones that score the highest make it to the finals. This year, seven entries scored 18/20. All good, but no clear frontrunner as in other years. So we contacted these finalists, and gave them an opportunity to edit their work,  tweak their rhythm, and give that ending line some extra zing.

Here are those finalists, with the WINNER listed last:

Joyce Young

Dave Dziabas, Chris Burke, Mikey Benton, 

grew more hunky as summer went on, 

the balers of hay 

to gaze at all day 

Dad's hay camp had all of my attention.

Danielle Grandholm

While most are out campin’ and fishin’

I am at home rhymin’ and wishin’

That this might be the July 

that I finally win pie

That Aunt Bev is bakin’ and dishin’

Jake McKowen

Wake up late barely feeling alive

But I know that I still have to thrive 

Check traffic and shout

The schools are out!

This summer has shortened my drive.

Jacob Rathmacher

Five weeks smelling like pigsty

Fighter jets high in the sky

Marching hut, two, three, four

Keep those blues off the floor

Now please give me that damn pie

Lyn Ellis

So humid you can swim from here to there,

It’s totally affecting my hair,

It’s really so big

I’m considering a wig

But that’s really too hot to wear!

Kelly Moe

Roger celebrates his birthday in June

Eating pie under the Strawberry Moon

He will whoop, holler, and cheer

With news that Maggie is here

Baby cooing is his favorite tune

WINNER! Grace Kozak

Grandpa Doyle turning seventy-five,

We played kickball when all had arrived.

Johnny Cash cover band

Pie and ice cream at hand

Sharritt’s yard was a buzzing beehive

Congratulations Grace! We’ll bake an extra pumpkin pie just for you this week as we prepare to feast and give thanks. We are grateful for poetry to make life richer, and friends and family who are patient with deadbeat judges.