Some people love puns, while others hate them with a passion. People who don’t like puns often call them “groaners” because they groan when they hear them.
Personally, I love a good pun. My friend, the poet Jack Pretlutsky once told me he thinks a good pun is one that you can be equally proud of and ashamed of at the same time. His favorite of his own puns was from the last line of his pun-filled poem “We’re Fearless Flying Hot Dogs” from his book Something Big Has Been Here.
Sometimes a pun poem is full of puns from beginning to end as in my poems “What a Ham” or “My Hare Is Resting on My Head.” Others are just a setup for a single zinger of a pun at the end.
This poem, Bob’s Job, is a list poem, meaning that it has a list of items, actions, or something else in it. In this case, the poem includes a list of soda pop brands such as Coca Cola and Mountain Dew.
But honestly, I wrote this entire poem just so I could get to the pun at the end. I hope it doesn’t make you groan too hard.
Bob’s Job
My name is Bob. I have a job.
My job is crushing cans,
like Coca Cola, 7Up,
and lots of other brands.I flatten cans from Mr. Pibb,
and Dr. Pepper too,
Sierra Mist, and RC Cola,
Sprite, and Mountain Dew.I whack them with a hammer or
I beat them with a bat,
to pound the Pepsi, squash the Squirt,
and press the Fresca flat.It’s good to have a job to do,
though sometimes it’s distressing.
I try to keep my chin up,
but my job is soda pressing.—Kenn Nesbitt
