A peanut is in fact a bean,
Tomatoes fruit, not veg.
Bananas are a berry but,
The straw ones not, I pledge.
A velvet ant is just a wasp,
King Crabs are not crustaceans.
A lizard is the Horny Toad,
The Seahorse, no relation.
Sticks of chalk are just not that,
In pencils there's no lead.
And salt is not a salt at all,
It really hurts my head.
The funny bone's a nerve, you know,
No laugh it makes you do.
An Elephant's a type of fish,
(That last one isn't true!)
©2013 Gareth Lancaster
Something Interesting...
All the facts in this poem are true - honestly, they really are! Well, apart from the last one. For instance, the lead in a pencil is actually graphite and clay and a stick of chalk is really made of a substance called gypsum. And all those Strawberries, Blackberries and Raspberries you eat? Nope, they're not berries at all. But Cranberries and Blueberries are.
There's a word for this as well - misnomer. It describes a word that suggests a meaning that isn't true.
Explore more poetry like this: Indescribabubble, Bits And Bobs
