Iggy Borborygmus
He’s Iggy Borborygmus, and
whenever he’s around,
without a doubt, you’ll clearly hear
a tummy rumbling sound.
His gut is always gurgling
with a grumble and a growl.
It’s known to groan and moan
or give a loud, resounding howl.
The noises Iggy’s insides make
are something of a wonder.
You’d likely be forgiven if
you thought that it was thunder.
You heard a herd of elephants?
A hungry grunting piggy?
An earthquake hurling furniture?
That probably was Iggy.
But if you think his stomach makes
a loud and rowdy sound,
when Iggy toots,
you truly do not want to be around.
— Kenn Nesbitt
Copyright © 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Level: Grade 4
Topics: Poems about Kooky Characters
Poetic Techniques: Alliteration, Assonance, Descriptive Poems, Hyperbole, Imagery
Word Count: 104
About This Poem
Can you believe I wrote this entire poem just so you could learn the word “borborygmus?” Well I did. You see, a borborygmus—in addition to being a funny-sounding word— is the sound your tummy makes when it rumbles, usually because of gas moving in your intestines.
When I sat down to write today, my own tummy started grumbling loudly. That happens sometimes when I’m hungry, but today, my tummy was making a lot of noise, and I have no idea why. It got me thinking about all the funny and strange sounds our stomachs can make, and that’s how Iggy was born!
In addition to using the funny word borborygmus in this poem, I also had fun using assonance (repeating vowel sounds, as in “clearly hear” or “loud, resounding howl”) and alliteration (repeating consonant sounds, as in “grumble and growl”) to make the poem more playful and musical. And of course, there’s a bit of exaggeration—or hyperbole—in the poem too, with Iggy’s tummy sounds being compared to thunder and even an earthquake! I hope you enjoy reading about Iggy as much as I enjoyed writing this poem.
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