BOAST POEMS - Inspired by Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

Muhammad Ali came up with some wonderful quotes. Lots of them actually read like poetry, and are surely the precursors of the belligerent, boastful lyrics that characterise certain strains of hip-hop. This can form a really interesting basis for poetry. What outlandish boasts can you come up with? Start off with a list of adjectives, then turn each one into a ridiculous boast. You can turn the poem into a riddle like mine if you want, or you can combine the lines to create a group poem. Finally, you can finish by having a battle in class!

Quote by Muhammad Ali

I done wrestled with an alligator,

I done tussled with a whale;

handcuffed lightning,

thrown thunder in jail;

only last week, I murdered a rock,

injured a stone,

hospitalised a brick;

I'm so mean

I make medicine sick

What am I? by Joshua Seigal

I’m

PRETTIER

than a butterfly princess

STRONGER

than a gorilla on steroids

CLEVERER

than a professor with two brains

BRAVER

than a warrior in a lion’s cage

TOUGHER

than diamond girders

CUTER

than a hamster-sized kitten

FASTER

than a torpedo made of light

RICHER

than a sultan who won the lottery

FUNNIER

than a headmaster with no trousers

SWEETER

than sugar-coated ice cream.

What am I?

A: a liar.