Verse

I started writing parodies and light verse (although in those days I’m pretty sure I called them “funny poems”) when I was about 10, and stopped when I was 11 or 12. Why? Because whenever I wrote something my mother found amusing (“Surely Lestoil and Ajax will follow me all the days of my life/And I shall dwell in kitchen of our house forever”), she would say, “Ca, go get your poem and read it to Mrs. Pianin.” Auggh! But the more I protested, the more she insisted. A year or two of being thusly mortified was enough to inspire me to stop writing light verse.

Once safely out of the house, however, I did occasionally indulge. I delighted my art history professor at Bryn Mawr with “Archtype,” an art historically correct analysis of the Arch of Constantine, published decades later in The Classical Outlook. Then there was the rhyming recipe for pesto, which Lucy Purdy, wife of the late automotive writer Ken Purdy, deemed worthy of a book. It’s finally found a home in Eggs Benedict Arnold, my collection of culinary light verse, now nearing completion.

Today I don my poet’s hat whenever I feel like having a little fun or get a request for a little amuse-bouche.

My verse has been featured in Light Quarterly, Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, Alimentum, The Classical Outlook, womensvoicesforchange.org, and anthologized in More Women’s Wicked Wit. For a taste, see the left column.

Note: A light verse at the right time makes any occasion more special and memorable. Whether your goal is to celebrate, commemorate, honor, publicize, advertise, roast, or toast, I’m here to wordsmith your message. Contact me at contact@carylavery.com.

Corporate events

Sales meetings

Retirement parties

Corporate jingles

Taglines

Big birthdays

Showers

Weddings

Invitations

Song lyrics (See also CUTS the Musical)