And the Shamrock goes to....

Thanks everyone who participated in the 2006 you-don't-have-to-read Limerick eFestival!

Stay tuned for my Haiku festival in July, and a Seven Words festival in October.

The judging was done by me, and I am a despot. I looked for rhythmic perfection and symmetry, perfect or near-perfect rhyming, lexical richness, syntactic transparency, and the je ne sais quoi that you'll enjoy, too, when you become a limerical despot.

Do you feel exhuberant, filled with pride that your limerick (or your favorite limerick) has been awarded my shamrock? Do you feel shafted? Has an injustice against literature been committed in the overlooking of your entry (or your favorite entry)? That's what the comment section is for!

So without further ado, here are your 2006 Shamrock Award winning limericks:

BEST OF THE FEST
Criteria: rhythmically perfect and symmetrical, rhyming scheme perfect or near-perfect, lexically rich, syntactically transparent... and I had to enjoy it.

St. Patrick's Day Shamrock: sems
Before I was even a teen,
Got assulted for not wearing green.
The teacher was fully
In league with the bully,
And I was the kid in between.

GastroIntestinal Shamrock: Lady Grey
I read about this and that germ
From virus to fungus to worm.
Especially heinous:
Some crawl out your anus.
What fun I am having this term!

Ohhhh Snap! Shamrock: gordon
I once saw a rhyme for Dubai
But the moment was short, it flew by.
So on to "hegemony"
Which rhymes with "anemone"
And that's all there is, so goodbye.

Shamrockus Latinatus: Matt
There once was a man who did actus
Without knowing some of the factus.
He said what you'd say-a
("I had no mens rea!")
And at least gave his lawyer some practice.

Fancy Education Shamrock of Aesoteria: Joolya
If Dowd's titular question is literal,
(That superfluous are the non-clitoral)
And she really implies
Thatt she's sworn off the guys,
Then with whom will she go "quid-profiterole"?

Special Mention

myrna, My best friend's name is Princess...
Mama-That's-Not-A-Limerick

sp, I was checking out BitchPhD...
Rhyming-Under-The-Influence

Lauren Lim, DB's Niece; JP loves korean food...
Young Author (I remember when you were born!)

G., A LATE MICHIGAN LIMERICK
Para-limerick of the Year (deliciously ironic that it's about syllabic inflation, when line four is short! Excellent!)

Michaela, The Life that Gives Bread Rise
I'm so proud of my baby sister.