Limericks about the Flood

The story of a great world flood is one that appears almost universally, in nearly every culture. So either it really happened, although the geological evidence does not support that, or else the legend is simply one that resonates with the depths of human consciousness.

Though the myth is ubiquitous, the details vary from group to group. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Jahweh sends the flood to punish mankind and rid the world of evil-doers. Only Noah, the single righteous man, is spared.

In regard to this Biblical version of the myth, I’m sympathetic to a psychological interpretation. I understand the most powerful form of punishment as being self-induced, i.e., the guilt that rises up like floodwater from the individual conscience.

The development of a conscience was a crucial and formative leap of human evolution. Only through the imagery of myth could our ancestors make sense of this psychological event, yet the story was one that needed telling, and retelling.

Noah’s Ark
In the earliest annals of Christian Folklore
God said to Noah: Please pick up an oar
As I am your teacher
Go save every creature
And build thee an ark ere the rain starts to pour

Under the Rainbow
That ark builder Noah he showed up prepared
In that sink-or-swim climate not many were spared
As the sun came to shine
He was swimming in wine
And sprawled out uncovered with senses impaired

Diluvial Legends
From out of antiquity, flood waters rise
A deluge of knowledge, an awful surprise
The wave of compunction
A holy injunction
Come see where the seabed of consciousness lies

The Fall and the Flood
In the age of Atlantis when gods still addressed us
When angels were active and seraphim blessed us
The true congregation
Gave in to temptation
And then came the days when the demons grew restless

Further Reading

In the beginning was the worm

The night before Christmas, revisited

Beatified Limericks for All Saints’ Day