Can I Just Have a Sick Day?

As a child, some of my fondest memories I have are snuggling up in my nice warm bed on a cold, snowy, drab day and listening to my mom read me the "funny stories" from the "book that had silly drawings". Little did I know, Shel Silverstein was providing a type of solace for me then and now.  I pretty much had those short little poems memorized, and I probably still do. Looking back to those care-free days where all I really had to worry about was being able to spell my own name, I remember the poem that I always loved my mom to read and I found it to be the most entertaining. Perhaps I enjoyed it so much because I could relate to it fairly well.

"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 believe this poem was especially easy for me to memorize as a child due to the rhyming words that Shel Silverstein uses. The rhyme scheme in this poem (AABBCCDD), helps it to flow and roll off the tongue easily. The rhyming also provides a rhythm to the poem. In doing so, it gives the poem an almost childish feeling of innocence and playfulness.

"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."

This particular section of the poem reminds me of a recent experience I had while here at BYU.  I had been living in Utah for about a month when the altitude finally did a number on my body. Like Peggy Ann McKay, my neck was stiff, my voice was weak, and I could hardly whisper when I spoke. It was the first time I had been seriously ill without being at or close to home (I was over 1,400 miles away from home). I just wanted to be able to go home, however that was not an option. I remember laying in bed, probably watching a show on Netflix, when this silly poem popped into my head. Remembering it helped me to remember the fun times I had with my mom as a child and my homesickness was lifted for a few moments. Afterward, I called my mom and we talked for as long as my voice could last. Although this is a silly little poem, I still find comfort in it to this day.

"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."

Shel Silverstein uses lots of figurative language in this poem to clearly show just how much Peggy Ann McKay does not want to go to school. "My tongue is filling up my mouth" is an example of a hyperbole. It is totally something a young child would say and exaggerate to get out of school. He also uses imagery "My brain is shrunk" and "There is a hole inside my ear".  Imagery is strongly used throughout the entire poem. One of my favorite uses of this device is in the line "A gash, a rash, and purple bumps." I can physically see a gash, a rash, and purple bumps. "Purple bumps" is not a term you hear everyday, and definitely sparks the imagination. It is definitely a phrase a young child would say to get out of school.

Rather than just looking at the poem as something humorous, I looked a bit deeper to see if Shel Silverstein put any underlying theme or meaning into his writing. A theme I see in this poem is that of telling the truth. It is better to tell the truth from the beginning than to lie, as it might come back to bite you. Peggy Ann McKay comes up with multiple excuses and lies as to why she cannot go to school, however when she finds out it is Saturday, she is perfectly normal. It reminds me of the boy who cried wolf. When Peggy Ann McKay really is sick, will anyone believe her if it is a Saturday? This applies to both children and adults. Sometimes we just want a sick day, but are we really always sick? If there is something more fun to do than school or work, would we be sick and miss that?

"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!"

This is by far my favorite part of the poem. After all this time of coming up with reasons to not go to school, Peggy Ann McKay does not even have to go to school. Shel Silverstein's sense of humor can be seen throughout this poem, especially at the end.

Even though this poem can be seen as childish and silly, it brought comfort to me when I was a full-time kindergarten student and now as a full-time college student. Whenever I feel homesick, this poem is one of the first I go to for peace (and then I call my mom). I am a big fan of Shel Silverstein, and an even bigger fan of Peggy Ann McKay.