“The Blood-Hungry Spleen”

Spleens are strange, misunderstood organs. While this is a health site dedicated to serious splenic disorders and treatments, I can’t resist occasionally sharing the quirky song, video or book inspired by this much-maligned body part.

So here’s something to add to your holiday wishlist: “The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts” by Allan Wolf. (Just take a look at that cover!) A children’s book written by an educator, the book features humorous poems on various body parts. Here’s Wolf’s take on the spleen:

“To the left of your stomach, a deep violet-red,
a filter’s at work filling blood cells with dread:
The red blood cell graveyard! It’s not Halloween.
I’m talking about that blood basher, the spleen.”