Poetry. Drawings by Peter Szasz. As many have noted, limericks seem to be programmed in our genes. And interestingly, nonbawdy or "clean" limericks, or as Bob Scher calls them, limes, predate
the bawdy ones. Shakespeare, Robert Herrick, and W.S. Gilbert all employed perfect or nearperfect limes in their works. However, a lime capable of standing on its own requires a twist or a neat
turn in the last line, which is true of none of the above. Nor was it necessary since in these cases the verses are all part of longer works, some consisting entirely of limes. These are limes
in form, but not in essence.
