Come To Think Of It
I find it quite amusing — intriguing, actually,
How ’midst conversations, creatures are mentioned frequently.
Some might say maligned in fact, but whether that’s so or not,
I thought that down on paper some examples I would jot:
I often hear people say, in order to order restore,
“Stop monkeying around,” even, “Stop horsing about,” OR,
They call someone a “bunny” who has done something silly,
When they could have said instead, “You’re such a silly Billy.”
Or they call someone a “mouse” who’s timid or expresses fears,
Or accuse someone of just crying “crocodile tears.”
Or of crying “wolf,” which in both cases means: just pretending;
And some say, “It’s raining cats and dogs,” when neither’s descending.
Confusing, isn’t it? But that’s not all, as there’s even more,
For when someone’s scared, some say they’re “chicken,” which I’d ignore.
And others call swindlers “sharks,” or someone a “copycat,”
Who, coincidently perhaps, is wearing same frock or hat.
I hear some folk say that so-and-so has a “frog in their throat,”
Or that so-and-so apparently “gets on someone’s goat.”
Now once again, neither can be taken literally,
For one’s a sore throat, the latter: Someone makes someone grumpy.
Sometimes people call someone a “black sheep,” or a “drowned rat,”
Or say that someone’s having a “whale of a time,” fancy that!
And some say so-and-so is “rabbiting on,” or “catnapping,”
But we all know what they mean, it’s an English language thing.
Even so, what would creatures think if they could read and write,
Would they be just as amused, or the rights of creatures cite?
Imagine them all marching, and crossing the sky and sea,
Each holding up a placard saying, “STOP ACTING SO BEASTLY”
Oops!
By Lance Landall