they Said, "Eat the Broccoli" - Barry Louis Polisar

They said, «Eat the broccoli,» I ate the broccoli

They said, «Eat the spinach,» I ate the spinach

They said, «Eat the meat loaf, mashed potatoes, peanut butter

String beans, brown rice, cucumbers and all the other

Things like zucchini squash, pineapple and eggplant

Bread and butter, macaroni, corned beef, ham, also Bologna

Lemonade and grape juice, Quiche Lorraine and cous-cous

Chicken fried and baked and broiled, mushroom stems stir fried in oil…

And don’t forget when you are through, we’ll have some desert for you

There’s apple pie and brownies, peaches, plums and nectarines

Cookies, cake and candied sweets and yogurt mixed with cottage cheese

Lemon custard, apple strudel, luchen kugle (it's cooked with noodles)

Drippy, runny ice cream cones 'cause kids can’t live by bread alone.»

I are so much my tummy hurt, I popped the buttons off my shirt

I bulged so big, I split my side, But still my plate was piled high

I said, «I think I’ve had enough,» they made me eat more--I was stuffed

I cleaned the plate, now everywhere, people poke and point and stare

Whenever I go down the street, people stop to look at me

I ate and ate and ate and ate and now they say I’m overweight

Can’t fit through doorways or in chairs, I tell you it just isn’t fair

I break the sofa when I sit, can’t go to school 'cause I can’t fit

I fall asleep, I break the bed, but I’ve always done what my parents said

When they said, «Eat the broccoli,» I ate the broccoli

When they said, «Eat the spinach,"I ate the spinach