My Baby Brother
My mum says
that my baby brother
is so cute
that she just wants
to eat him all up.
He doesn’t look
very tasty to me.
of warm milk and sick,
with a side dish
of dirty nappy.
His fingers don’t look
nearly as nice
as fish fingers,
and his ears
aren’t as sweet
as ears of corn.
I’d rather eat
a chocolate button
than his bellybutton,
and his legs
can’t compete
with chicken drumsticks.
My mum says
that my baby brother
is so cute
that she just wants
to eat him all up.
I don’t understand that.
But I suppose, if I had to,
that I’d eat the cat.
There are some very weird turns of phrase in the English language. Can you make a list of them? Some possible example are: cute enough to eat; raining cats and dogs; a different kettle of fish; cat got your tongue. Write a poem reimagining these idioms as literal truths. What would that kind of world be like? What problems would arise? You could also try to think up brand new idioms, and make a poem using these. Have fun!
