I don’t think I feel very well——”
That was composed on the Gallipoli Peninsula; in fact it was composed under fire; indeed I remember now that we were going over the top at the time. But in the quiet days of Peace I can get no further with it. It only shows how much easier it is to begin a Limerick than to end it.
Apart from the subtle phrasing of the second line this poem is noteworthy because it is cast in the classic form. All the best Limericks are about a young man, or else an old one, who said some short sharp monosyllable in the first line. For example:—
There was a young man who said “If——
Now what are the rhymes to if? Looking up my Rhyming Dictionary I see they are:—
| cliff | hieroglyph | hippogriff |
| skiff | sniff stiff | tiff whiff |
Of these one may reject hippogriff at once, as it is in the wrong metre. Hieroglyph is attractive, and we might do worse than:—
There was a young man who said “If
One murdered a hieroglyph——”
Having, however, no very clear idea of the nature of a hieroglyph I am afraid that this will also join the long list of unfinished masterpieces. Personally I should incline to something of this kind:—