"Poetry" Corner

So, I was perusing the magazine Fortean Times ("the world of strange phenomena") this evening.

It's an interesting little British glossy I pick up every now and again when looking for something light & fun to read (and sometimes bizarre; those Brits are wack). I discovered it while working the newsstand at B&N.

Anyway, in the current issue they are running a 'Brain Of UFOlogy' quiz to test one's knowledge of UFO lore (mine must be fairly bad as I could only answer 1 out of 26 questions with any confidence). The questions are pretty tough (I think) and vary between short-answer and multiple guess.

However, the most fun part of the quiz is the Tie-Breaker. The task is to write a (more or less) clean limerick with a UFO-related theme. This really captured my fancy and I was able to knock two out in 15 minutes (the second one came easier). I've never written a limerick (let alone 2) before, so this was a great creative exercise. I may have to try these more often.


Paul and John spotted a saucer up high,
Shining like a diamond in the sky.
For the pilot a tune was written,
She 's Lucy, the alien sex-kitten,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

I'd swear it was neither airplane nor bird,
But UFO, you do have my word.
Them aliens they scare me,
I need a rest in the country,
For my nerves are shaken, not stirred.