WHY, IF IT'S NOT

Why, do we call it 
Something it's not
If we're going to name things
Let's give it some thought

If it's called a chilli
Then why is it hot
And I can say this
A Guinea pig, is not

A prairie dog
He only digs holes 
But this dog belongs
With rodents and moles

If you eat an elder berry
You won't get to retire
But a taste for them
You must acquire

If I strike a ball
And this gets me pissed 
In real life, I hit it
But in baseball, I missed

That horned toad
Isn't a wizard
Not even a frog
It's just a lizard

A pencil with lead
That's just a myth
It's really graphite
That we write with

A simple door mouse
Is really neither
It's just a squirrel
Taking a breather

It's not a firefly
Lighting the dark
It's only a horny beetle
That has the spark

And who gives us silk
Not that silkworm
It's really caterpillars
That wiggle and squirm

Bears have no pouch
But Koala bears do
It's a marsupial
I thought you knew

To some this may not
Be a big deal
But wasn't Achilles
Really a heel

That majestic bald eagle 
His head is not bare
And that speedy jackrabbit
Is really a hare

A Turkish bath
Invented by a Roman
And catgut intestines
From sheep abdomen

A shooting star
That isn't right
It's always been
A meteorite

A peanut a nut
You would presume
Nope, not a chance
It's a legume

A Douglas fir
Is only a pine
And that funny bone
It's not, by design

Cucumbers and tomatoes
This is a hoot
They are not veggies
They're really a fruit

A duck bill is not
A duck's paper money
And bees didn't make
My little honey

Hamburgers are made
With beef and not pork
And how come those hot dogs
At strangers don't bark

Sometimes you get
A really dumb waiter
But not in a restaurant
It's an elevator

Eye tooth is a dog's tooth
But not in his eye
This kind of name
Just makes me cry

A killdeer is not roadkill
That's just absurd
It really is
A wading bird

Duck weed is a water lily
Dog wood is a bush
An ear wig is an insect
And your ass is a tush

Shortbread is a cookie
And a jumping bean is a seed
And things we misname
Only tend to mislead
BOEMS by JA 134