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!"


'as big as rocks' is a simile.
'My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear' and  'My leg is cut, my eyes are blue' are hyperboles
The author used  figurative language to show how much Peggy Ann McKay is exaggerating.
 
I like this poem as it is humorous and exaggerating. It also has a twist at the end. At first, Peggy dreaded going to school and starting complaining that she was not well and came up with a long list of illnesses as to why she is not fit to attend school even though she was normal. Suddenly, someone tells her that it was a Saturday and there was no school as it was a Saturday. The poem ends off with Peggy going out to play. This ending makes me laugh, thus, making it fun and enjoyable. The poem is also easy to understand, unlike those by famous poets like Robert Frost. Those have deep meanings which are difficult for me to understand.