Sir Swellimpedeedoo

July 30, 2026

Sir Swellimpedeedoo — ekphrastic limerick and nonsense rhyme

I love a bit of nonsense, and Matt, this week’s W3 Poet‑of‑the‑Week, invites us to write exactly that. To read his full prompt guidelines for an Ekphrastic Limerick-and-Nonsense Poem, click below.

Matt’s Prompt: Snyder Nonce

An Ekphrastic Limerick-and-Nonsense Poem

Use this piece of artwork as inspiration to write a ten-line nonsense poem about Sir Swellimpedeedoo:

Your poem must have two stanzas of five lines each.

Stanza One: Limerick

Write a five-line limerick with the rhyme scheme:

AABBA

The first line must be exactly:

Whatever became of Sir Swellimpedeedoo?

Write the remaining four lines yourself.

Stanza Two: Nonsense Verse

Write a second stanza of five lines.

The first line must begin:

He didn’t…

The second line must begin:

Nor did he…

Complete both lines yourself.

The third line must be exactly:

This much is true!

Do not add any other words to this third line.

Write the fourth and fifth lines yourself. The fifth line must rhyme with “true.” The first, second, and fourth lines do not have a required rhyme.

Poem Template

Stanza 1: Limerick

Whatever became of Sir Swellimpedeedoo? (A)

____________________________ (A)

__________________ (B)

____________________________ (A)

Stanza 2

He didn’t ______________________

Nor did he _____________________

This much is true! (C)

____________________________

____________________________ (C)

Your poem may be humorous, strange, whimsical, or completely nonsensical, but it should be inspired in some way by the artwork.

The rule is that we write the limerick and nonsense stanzas around Matt’s words (the ones I’ve italicised in my poem), inspired by his artwork.


Whatever became of Sir Swellimpedeedoo?
He disappeared without leaving a clue—
‘cept a crocheted white hen
That he’d crocheted back when
He spent most of his time on the loo

He didn’t smoke
Nor did he fart
This much is true!
Our knight of the Garter was a bit of a joke—
And vanished while quaffing a brew

_{—Lesley Scoble, July 2026}

Acknowledgements

Thank you, Matt, for this fun collab prompt and artwork.
Thank you, David, as always, for your W3 weekly poetic motivation and encouragement.
And thank you, dear reader, for being here.