A Middle Child Limerick

          It’s St. Patrick’s Day. That means it’s time for my yearly Irish-oriented Middle Child blog post. Over the years, I’ve covered a range of topics, from the world’s greatest (and only) selection of Middle Child Beers to the world’s  most famous Irish Middle Children. I even shared the sad story of the overlooked St. Gertrude, who has the misfortune of sharing her March 17th feast day with

St. you-know-who.

          I wasn’t sure how I was going to commemorate this year’s celebration, and I thought I might be running out of ideas -- but then it hit me. A limerick! I will write a Middle Child limerick!! What could be more Irish than that?

          But then I got nervous. What if I’m wrong? I mean, I always figured it was called a limerick because it originated in Limerick. But what if it wasn’t? I know Edward Lear was a big fan of the form, but he was English. So I did some exhaustive Google research and found this article titled “Where Do Limerick Poems Come From?” 

          It turns out there are many theories regarding where this poetic form originated and how it got its name, but most of them can be traced back to Ireland. Well, that’s a relief. So in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I now confidently present my Middle Child limerick:

 

There once was a father and mother

Who had two sons, then had another

The first born was cherished

Their baby they relished

And the Middle Child spent the rest of his life seeking attention and dealing with

the psychological damage caused by years of  Middle Child Syndrome

and always feeling like the overlooked

brother.