There was a hungry boy
who swallowed the sun.
‘Oh, what have you done
to the sun?’ said his mother.
‘Now go to your room.’
And the very next day
while his mum was away
his eyes burned yellow, poor fellow!
There was a hungry boy
who swallowed a cloud.
‘You’re not allowed
to eat a cloud,’ said his mother.
‘Now go to your room.’
And the very next day
while his mum was away
his hair fluffed white, what a fright!
Oh, his eyes burned yellow, poor fellow!
There was a hungry boy
who swallowed a rainbow.
‘What a holy show
to eat a rainbow,’ said his mother.
‘Now go to your room.’
And the very next day
while his mum was away
one tooth turned red,
then another went orange,
and one more turned yellow.
Oh, what a surprise, it matched his eyes!
And one tooth went green,
another turned blue,
and one more went indigo,
then another turned violet.
And when he grinned too wide
his mother cried.
Oh, his teeth were a motley crew, boohoo!
Oh, his hair fluffed white, what a fright!
Oh, his eyes burned yellow, poor fellow!
And he never again left his room.
Ian Humphreys lives in West Yorkshire. His debut collection, Zebra (Nine Arches), was nominated for the Portico Prize. He is the editor of Why I Write Poetry (Nine Arches), and the producer and co-editor of After Sylvia (Nine Arches, October 2022). Ian’s work has been highly commended in the Forward Prizes for Poetry and won first prize in the Hamish Canham Prize. His poems are widely published in journals, including The Poetry Review and The Caterpillar, and he has written for the BBC.