"Sick" by Shel Silverstein

"I cannot go to school today,"

Said little Peggy Ann McKay,

"I have the measles and the mumps,

A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,

I'm going blind in my right eye.

My tonsils are as big as rocks,

I've counted sixteen chicken pox

And there's one more--that's seventeen,

And don't you think my face looks green?

My leg is cut, my eyes are blue--

It might be instamatic flu.

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

I'm sure that my left leg is broke--

My hip hurts when I move my chin,

My belly button's caving in,

My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,

My 'pendix pains each time it rains.

My nose is cold, my toes are numb,

I have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,

I hardly whisper when I speak.

My tongue is filling up my mouth,

I think my hair is falling out.

My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?

What's that? What's that you say?

You say today is---Saturday?

G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

I really liked this because even though I'm 17 (almost 18), I can still relate to this poem. This may be a shocker to many of you, but school isn't exactly my favorite place to be. As I was reading this poem, I noticed that I've used some of these excuses to try and get out of school. My parents never fall for anything and usually just tell me to suck it up and get to school. However if I'm feeling under the weather and I catch them in particularly good moods, I can sometimes stay home! This is a rare occurrence but it when it does happen, it's amazing. The best feeling in the world to me is waking up and then finding out that school is canceled so I can go right back to bed. Coming in close second would be waking up thinking it's a weekday when it's really a Saturday or Sunday! Preferably when it's a Saturday because then I don't have to think about school the next day. I remember one time during winter, Rishin woke me up to tell me that I could go back to sleep because it was a snow day. Turns out, it was not a snow day. I was furious that day. So in conclusion, Shel Silverstein's poetry is always appealing to me because I can relate to it no matter how old I am.