My Brother Punched Me in the Head
From the book A Festival for Frogs
My brother punched me in the head.
I hit him on the chin.
He whacked me on the back and so
I kicked him in the shin.
I jabbed him in the abdomen.
He bopped me on the nose.
I socked him in the stomach and
he tromped on all my toes.
He hit me in the ribcage and
I slugged him in the gut.
He struck me on the shoulder so
I kicked his you-know-what.
Our mother started yelling, “Stop!”
Our father looked upset.
We only do this once a year,
but somehow they forget.
They really ought to know by now
that this is just the way
my brother and I celebrate
each year on Boxing Day.
— Kenn Nesbitt
Copyright © 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Level: Grade 3
Topics: Holiday Poems, Other Holidays, Poems about Friends and Family
Poetic Techniques: Alliteration, Assonance, Imagery, List Poems, Narrative Poems, Onomatopoeia, Pun Poems
Word Count: 126
About This Poem
I do have a brother. In fact, I have two. Here’s a picture of us on Santa’s lap. That’s me on the left, my older brother Ross on the right, and my younger brother Danny in the middle. Danny never liked sitting on Santa’s lap, as you can probably tell by looking at this photo.
We had a lot of fun as kids. We also fought once in a while. When we were teenagers, sometimes we even put on boxing gloves and had boxing matches in the backyard. But we always loved each other too.
Growing up in the United States, I never heard of Boxing Day until I was 18 years old and went to visit my relatives in Canada for Christmas. That’s when I found out that, in many countries such as England, Canada, and Australia, the day after Christmas—December 26—is called “Boxing Day.” (In many other countries, it is called Saint Stephen’s Day, but in the US it is simply called the day after Christmas.)
When I asked where the name came from, no one seemed to know for sure. In fact, there are many different explanations for the name, but the most common theory is that the day after Christmas is when you give a “Christmas box,” or gift, to service people, such as the mail carrier.
These days, I think a lot more American kids know what Boxing Day is, because it is mentioned in a couple of the Harry Potter books.
Regardless of how it got its name, I always thought Boxing Day sounded like a good day for a boxing match. So, naturally, it seemed like something I should write a poem about. I hope you enjoy it.
Worksheet
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From the book A Festival for Frogs
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