My son is learning similes at school
and I see that he has written
“busy as a beaver”
so I gently explain about cliches
and how it can be more fun
to try to think up original similes
and he asks me
what else is busy
so I suggest
busy as a working mother
who spilled a container of thumbtacks
in her purse weeks ago
but she hasn’t found the time
to clean out her bag
so she just tries to avoid
without much luck
being slightly stabbed
whenever she reaches in
to get anything
after which there is a long pause
and he writes something down
which I see later
is one line
written with great care
“free as a bird.”