Groundhog Limerick Finalists

Sorry for the delay in getting these posted. Snow days messed with my timetable a fair bit. However, I was really happy to see the excellent entries from this year’s contest. As I said before, I’m here today to post the top 5 entries, as judged by me. That was the plan, at least. But I didn’t anticipate there being as many great entries as there were, so I’m going to up that number to 10. My blog, my rules. (I eliminated 4. One of them was great, but pretty much taken from a well known limerick, one was mine, one person submitted 2 entries so I took the one I liked the most, and one of them had the word “Groundhog” ten times . . .)

Now you get to vote. I’ll open voting for a week, so any votes cast by Thursday 2/23 at midnight Eastern time will count. There’s only one way to vote: leave a comment here on this blog entry. It’ll be easy for you to tell who’s winning. One vote per person, though I will allow entries to cast multiple votes for each family member. (In other words, if there are 5 people in your family, you can let me know all the votes from your family when you submit your vote.) Voting campaigns aren’t just allowed. They’re encouraged. Next Friday, I’ll count up the winners and announce the lucky entry.

At stake is naming rights in my current TOP SECRET project, which I still can’t tell you about. I guess I’ll just have to leave you in suspense.

In any case, without further ado, here are the finalists:

1

This rodent from old Punxsutawney

Considers himself rather brawny

But I don’t agree

Between you and me

His heart and his brain are both scrawny

2

Once an old groundhog from PA

Snuck into the garden to pray

While there on a stump

He just thought of Trump

And gave up and moved to Bombay.

3

There’s an animal hogging the news

And casting shadows on views

It’s the groundhog, of course

Our annual source

Of featherbrained seasonal clues

4

When pulling me out of a log

Let’s hope there’s not much of a fog

Shadow, I may see

Lest you pay a fee

I’m February’s fat star hog

5

Here we are at the house of Bryce

To celebrate groundhog on ice

Hit by the big truck

Head off like a puck

This poem is not very nice.

6

Fateful day this groundhog delay

Groundhogs keep winter at bay

Blinded by the light

Of shadows in sight

For his shadow was seen at midday.

7

In days of old, when Grandpa Jack was not old,

And hunting laws were not invented,

The groundhog would die,

And on his stove they would fry,

And Jack’s stomach would be most contented.

8

My friend Phil that lives in a burrow

Comes out once a year to say hello.

What he saw means more cold,

Or so I am told.

So the next six weeks I’ll forego.

9

I recently started to worry

That if things don’t change in a hurry

We’ll be doomed to repeat

Sins we thought we had beat.

Just like that film with Bill Murray.

10

There once was a groundhog from Spain

Who stepped in a trap and had pain

His shadow he saw

Six more weeks for pa,

Unless it was starting to rain.