Anything to Skip School...

So many students are out sick (or still on vacation, ahem...) this week that this beloved American children's poem keeps coming to mind... You'll see why!

The author is Shel Silverstein, a poet who holds a very special place in the hearts of everyone who has grown up with his clever wit and way with words. 

I Cannot Go to School Today

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 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's a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, 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!"

Even this university student (from Texas or another southern state) still loves the poem! Check him out!