Illustration by Jaimee Lee Haddad
Desperate to entertain two bored daughters on long car trips, my parents resorted to all kinds of guessing games. When even these failed to keep me and my sister from winding each other up, my Irish father would fall back on a tried-and-true stay of execution: the limerick. “There once was a man from Calais…” he’d begin, and the urge to poke my sister would fade as we joined in. Many years and countless limericks later, I still find myself responding to life through the rhythm of the five-line poem.Dearest readers of this letter,Too harsh is the truth so it’s betterTo narrate this storyWith Limerick gloryIn a rhyme scheme not easy to fetter. Read also: Letters to Lebanon: A letter to nothing, since that's what was achieved For the sensitive-of-hearing — like myself — Beirut is the ultimate obstacle course. Walking home, I dodge...
Desperate to entertain two bored daughters on long car trips, my parents resorted to all kinds of guessing games. When even these failed to keep me and my sister from winding each other up, my Irish father would fall back on a tried-and-true stay of execution: the limerick. “There once was a man from Calais…” he’d begin, and the urge to poke my sister would fade as we joined in. Many years and countless limericks later, I still find myself responding to life through the rhythm of the five-line poem.Dearest readers of this letter,Too harsh is the truth so it’s betterTo narrate this storyWith Limerick gloryIn a rhyme scheme not easy to fetter. Read also: Letters to Lebanon: A letter to nothing, since that's what was achieved For the sensitive-of-hearing — like myself — Beirut is the ultimate obstacle course. Walking...