The trouble is, they're not very funny. And the longer ones that do have funny lines have many other lines that aren't funny or even poetry. Jenny Joseph's "Warning" is there. 2 by Edward Lear. 2 of Shakespeare. 2 by Private Eye's E.J. Thribb. I wasn't amused by Clive James' poem. I think he's done funnier ones.
Pieces as long and informal as Rosen's "Chocolate Cake" are in competition with comic prose - with extracts from stand-up comedians' scripts. And pieces like Humbert Wolfe's just make me aware of how seductive/deluding rhyme can be, making the funny seem funnier and truth truer.
"Jabbywocky" is ok for a while. I like Wendy Cope's "Bloody Men", some of Eliot's "Macavity". I tittered at "Survivor" (Roger McGough) and "Song of the open road" (Nash). Victoria Wood's "Saturday Night" was a little too long. I liked Zephaniah's "Talking Turkeys!!".
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