Limerick Du Jour

Let’s face it— Facebook is a curse and a blessing. A rabbit hole one can easily stumble into and tumble like Alice into a strange world where notes are found that say “Eat me. Drink me.” And we do and find ourselves shrinking to a tiny size while the White Rabbit hops by reminding us that we’re late for a very important date. But sometimes, there are gems there that help us grow larger. 

 

I seem to have gotten on something called “Inspiring quotes” and sometimes they are. (Sometime ironically as they remind us to lead authentic lives while scrolling through Facebook!) But a recent one had a collection of fabulous limericks, two of which I’ll share below. One about the battle between moral uplift and fall from grace, the other a math problem! Enjoy! And then get back to your life.

 

                God’s plan made a hopeful beginning,

                But man spoiled his chances by sinning.

                We trust that the story, will end in God’s glory,

                But at the present the other side’s winning.

                                     -Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

                A dozen, a gross and a score,

                Plus three times the square root of four.

                Divided by seven, plus five times eleven,

                Is nine squared and not a bit more.

          -      Leigh Mercer

PS I sent the last one to a friend of mine who teaches math at a University and suggested he have his students write their own calculus limericks. And then came up with my own.

 

                  The limit of f (x) is L,

                “It’s simple” the teacher did tell

                The student said “Huh?”, the teacher said “Duh!”

                 Then both of them said, “What the hell?!”