Avis Harley - Clerihews

Clerihews
by
Avis Harley

(A clerihew is a whimsical, four-line biographical poem with the first line consisting of the subject's name. The lines are of irregular length with a rhyme scheme of aabb.)

Edmund Clerihew Bentley
was evidently
looking for something new to do
when he invented the Clerihew.


Handel
wrote by candle
while tapping out the beat
to the Water Music Suite.


Shakespeare
wakes up the ear
with his magical touch.
How did he know so much?


Henry Ford
might have invented the skateboard
if he hadn’t been so busy
with that old Model-T.


Edward Lear
wrote limericks all year—
an’a pest he was, too,
if he made one about you!

© Avis Harley. All rights reserved.

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I'm hatching a secret plan here at GottaBook.  I'm going to tell Avis Harley that I'm doing a 30 Forms/30 Days type of event and I need examples of all sorts of different poetic forms. Then my inbox will be flooded with poems that make me oooh and ahhh and laugh and gasp and force me to pick my jaw up from the floor. (For other points of reference, see Perfect Pitch, Avis' prior contribution here, or check out her ABCs of Poetry books).

OK, fine. I won't launch that plan. Instead, I'll enjoy her books (and three poems which, I just learned, will be included in the Graham Denton curated collection When Granny Won Olympic Gold!), and just be grateful that I'm able to host Avis Harley here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

It's Poetry Friday once again (seems like it happens every week!), so head on over to Madigan Reads and check out the roundup of poetic goodness out there today.

Yesterday George Ella Lyon gave us No Need for Metaphor. Tomorrow... Tracie Vaughn Zimmer with Fantasy! For more information on 30 Poets/30 Days and how to follow along, please click here.