Limerick #82

The basket case. A ten-part limerick…

“If you have a question, just ask it.”
“Okay, who’s the man in the casket?
And why is it wicker?”
“Ah, yes, that’s the kicker!
His coffin is really a basket…

“You’ve heard of an old basket maker
That fishermen cursed? That was Achor!
And now he’ll be ferried
To where he’ll be buried
Away–far away–in god’s acre!

“Of course, the Osmeridae Sea is
A graveyard for fishy ideas
And Achor had many
Not worth a Smelt penny
The last one he stole was Althea’s!

“Althea, the local fish smoker
With fishermen always the joker
Suggested they offer
To Aeries a coffer
Containing a small yellow croaker

“A croaker of gold would please Aeries
He’d feed it to his gold canaries…
To earn his birds’ favor
Is good; nothing’s graver
Than snubbing those beautiful faeries!

“The fishermen knew she was joking
And wondered what else she was smoking!
Next day on the altar
Still clutching his psalter
They found Achor sobbing and choking!

“A basket he’d made as a gift box
Contained a dead fish; at the fish docks
He’d heard the idea
And thought that Althea
Had spoken as straight as the boardwalks

“To die praising god makes your head swim!
And meanwhile the lights in your eyes dim!
The old man lay dying
His fish eyes were crying
Oh, why would his god want to kill him?

“The basket he’d made was quite shoddy
The fish he’d put in was a ‘coddie’
The psalms were sung wrongly
And Aeries felt strongly
That mockery deserves a dead body!

“The sea may well risk indigestion
Althea, though, made the suggestion
That Achor be carried
To sea and then buried…
I hope that I’ve answered your question!”

© 2014 David E. Miller

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