Boa Constrictor
by Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it-- one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff...

If I think back long enough I can still picture my third grade class. Mrs. Harrison was an excellent 3rd grade teacher, with silvery white hair and a kind smile. My favorite part of the day was when she would call the class to come sit on the reading rug where she would take requests for our favorite Silverstein poems. It was probably against school policy for her to read us Dreadful, but she did anyhow. Why would Shel Silverstein write about eating a baby anyway?