I love a bit of nonsense, and Matt, this weekโs W3 PoetโofโtheโWeek, invites us to write exactly that. To read his full prompt guidelines for an Ekphrastic Limerick-and-Nonsense Poem, click below.
Mattโs 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 didnโtโฆ
The second line must begin:
Nor did heโฆ
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 โtrue.โ 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)
__________________ (B)
____________________________ (A)
Stanza 2
He didnโt ______________________
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 Mattโs words (the ones Iโve italicised in my poem), inspired by his artwork.
Sir Swellimpedeedoo
Whatever became of Sir Swellimpedeedoo?
He disappeared without leaving a clueโ
โcept a crocheted white hen
That heโd crocheted back when
He spent most of his time on the loo
He didnโt smoke
Nor did he fart
This much is true!
Our knight of the Garter was a bit of a jokeโ
And vanished while quaffing a brew
โLesley Scoble, July 2026
Audio โ Sir Swellimpedeedoo โ song ๐ถ
I hope you have a bit of a medieval dance while you listen to this lively bardic tune!
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.
LesleyScoble.com 
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