1760. What the L?

David Reddekopp is this blog's most regular reader and most fecund contributor.  Several weeks ago I discovered that there is a weekly limerick contest at this site.  I have entered each week since.  Dave jumped in about 3 weeks after I did.

He and I have each received "Honorable Mention" awards, which is pleasing as several of the competitors are REALLY good limerick writers!  A few of the contestants, however, use just AWFUL meter.  It's as if they haven't a clue about anapaest.

This week's word-to-be-rhymed is "sell" (or cell.)  Here is an excellent entry by a different Dave (Johnson) which attempts to show the dummies how it's done:
When WRIting a LIMerick WELL,
Good MEter is NOT hard to TELL.
It HAS a nice BOUNCE,
ConFORMS to the COUNTS
And is EAsy to PRATtle and SELL.

I then offered this:
Nicely put, Dave Johnson, but I think some people have an innate problem…
An embryo starts as one cell
Therein, gene for rhythm must dwell
Or no matter how galant
Your efforts, the talent
You lack makes your rhymes sound like hell.

Dave Reddekopp spotted my spelling error and submitted:
Phil, this is for you.
If your verse’s advice you would sell
Then be certain you know how to spell
I’d say most of it’s fine
But a fix I’ll assign
For it’s “gallant”; you’re missing an L.

I weakly defended myself with
Were I French, then my method of spell-
ing that word would be perfectly swell
But you’re right, Dave, “galant”
Looked a little bit gaunt
And besides that, it didn’t scan well.
I've asked Mad to "give me L" and yes, I realize I didn’t use ‘cell/sell’ above but it isn’t intended for the competition, anyway.

As you readers can tell, our Dave, like Stella, has his groove back!