Everyone’s favorite day to be Irish, March 17, is almost here!

In the past, we here at Denver Water have recognized this day with stories about green beer and how much water is needed to produce corned beef and cabbage.

This year, we turned to our fellow employees. We tasked them with thinking like tricky leprechauns.

The challenge: Come up with a new and original limerick.

What is a limerick? It’s a five-line poem, usually funny and often bawdy, in which the first, second and last lines must have seven to 10 syllables, rhyme and use the same meter pattern, while the third and fourth lines must rhyme with each other.

And as if that’s not enough, we set down additional rules.

The limericks had to be original. They had to have a water theme. And, they had to be acceptable for all ages and suitable for public consumption. (That last one may have been the hardest part of the contest.)

Here are some of the fine creations submitted by our team. If you have a limerick about water (please follow the rules), you too can play along by posting in the comments!

There was once a man in Dillon,

A reservoir he was fillin'.

He said give me no lip,

When he forbade their dip,

Now it’s elsewhere they are chillin'.

— Dave Gaylinn and Steve Snyder, Public Affairs.

You may not need the mop,

For the toilets drip-i-ty drop.

Don’t falter by wasting water,

Teach your daughter to save water,

Drip-i-ty, drip-i-ty, STOP!

— Lynn Southard, Water Resource Strategy.

I went to the sink with a jar,

Not realizing how very far,

This water must travel,

Through sand, pipe and gravel,

To get to my glass at the bar.

— Kristi Delynko, Public Affairs.

One day I said to my daughter,

My dear, you drink way too much water!

She declared there’s no such!

You can never drink too much!

Then I left and went to watch “Law and Order.”

— Laurette Evora, executive assistant to Chief of Staff.

To learn more about the history of limericks, including whether they really came from the Irish town of Limerick, here's a great article from The Irish Times.