Beat A Hasty Retreat Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member Who Agrees with Socrates


       Swindlers and charlatans 
           strut the world’s stage

         Decent folk beat a hasty retreat
           ‘tis the era’s outrage

Fury, A Shy Maid

My anger when watched all but nude,
It soon beat a hasty retreat.
Fury’s a shy maid in black mood,
When exposed, ogled at, would quit,
Feel helpless, void of all her wit.
_______________________________ 
Reflections | 03.05.2013, revised January 2024|Quintain

Premium Member Mr Z Goes To Washington

Millions of Ukrainians without water, power or heat
     But his pronouns he didn't know

  Volodymyr beat a hasty retreat
     Hopeful he came; incredulous he would go


Premium Member Opps I Slipped Up

Back in the day living a riotous life in London
I used to walk along Park Lane almost nightly
I was living in Paddington but went out in Mayfair
Often as I passed the Grosvenor Hotel there was a ball.

One Night appropriately dressed I gate crashed
Very soon I was asked to dance a waltz 
and as we dipped and bowed around the floor
I found out that he was a policeman.

Quickly saying ty I moved on to my next partner
Only to discover that yes he too was a policeman
this set a trend I had only gate crashed the police ball
tail tucked between my legs I beat a hasty retreat.

I suppose the lesson I learned was very important
always be honest in all of your dealings.
It had a large impact on my life over the course of time
taught me values that are now second nature.

A Farm Yarn

When we were young boys on our farm.
A fish tale never meant any harm,
We oft were given a look,
When from such a tiny brook,
We claimed a fish as long as your arm.

But then our neighbor named Meg,
Beat the fib and put us down a peg,
By claiming from the same brook,
With not a worm on her hook,
She caught a fish as long as your leg!

Well that truth was quite hard to beat,
Then Summer beat a hasty retreat. 
Winter changed the fishing world,
Meg turned from tomboy to girl.
And now this fishing tale is complete!




For John Freeman's "Fishing Limericks"

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace