Hepzibah's Banana Bricks

by James von Dielingen

Hepzibah Wollencraft-Forsythe’s machine

Peels a banana, and washes it clean;

Grinds up the innards, and dumps them into

A giant glass mixing bowl filled with white glue;

Adds in some flour ground from wheat, corn, and soy;

Whips up the mixture with fervor and joy;

Spits out the goo into molds made of rubber

That wiggle and jiggle like fat walrus blubber;

The wobbly mass then goes into a fire,

Which burns so hot that all near perspire;

It stays in the fire for a an hour or two,

And a change overcomes the batches of goo,

Instead of some batter, undulating and thick,

They become something firmer not unlike a brick 

Hepzibah knew not what to do with these blocks

They smelled like a smoothie and behaved like rocks

She tried to eat them, but couldn’t cut through

The bricks were too hard and her knife broke in two

She tried to soak them without any luck

She smashed one to bits and gave each piece a suck

It tasted alright but it wasn’t worth selling

The flavor was too mild and not that compelling

An idea popped into the head of that girl

She grinned and decided to give it a whirl

Right down the street was a quaint little zoo

She felt her idea was the right thing to do

She rounded up friends who were good with some spackle

And into the ape cage they all went to tackle

The building of homes for those hairy gorillas

 And soon there stood twenty-two great-smelling villas

Those primates were mighty fond of their new flats

They quickly moved in and put out welcome mats

The smell drew them in with a tropical scent

And the price was just right, there was not any rent

The primates were thankful for Ms. Forsythe’s construction

The gorillas all gathered for her ape-hood induction

So, topped with banana leaves shaped like a crown

Hepzibah cried with a smile, not a frown

She was so very happy because her invention

Was the first she had built that received such attention

Her hard work paid off and soon went nationwide

Each zoo in the land wanted their monkeys inside

A home not built just of bamboo, twine, and sticks

But a home made of Hepzibah’s banana bricks