Since I suck at making poems, I’ll type some for you from a book that I found in my room; Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein. These are the ones that I enjoy most....
MAGIC
Sandra’s seen a leprechaun,
Eddie touched a troll,
Laurie danced with witches once,
Charlie found some goblins’ gold.
Donald heard a mermaid sing,
Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known
I’ve had to make myself.
LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS
Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON”TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
RAIN
I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.
I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can’t do a headstand-
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said-
I’m just not the same since there’s rain in my head.
HECTOR THE COLLECTOR
Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that round not right.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin’ guns that wouldn’t shoot
Leaky boats that wouldn’t float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn’t toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks,
Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
‘Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Tree-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul-
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more then glistenin’ gold.
Hector called to all the people,
“Come and share me treasure truck!”
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked… and called it junk.
LESTER
Lester was given a magic wish
By the goblin who lives in the banyan tree,
And with his wish he wished for two more wishes-
So now instead of just one wish, he cleverly had three.
And with each one of these
He simple wished for three more wishes,
Which gave him three old wishes, plus nine new.
And with each of these twelve
He slyly wished for three more wishes,
Which added up to forty-six- or is it fifty-two?
Well anyway, he used each wish
To wish for wishes ‘til he had
Five billion, seven million, eighteen thousand thirty-four.
And then he spread them on the ground
And skipped and sang, and then sat down
And wished for more.
And more… and more… they multiplied
While other people smiled and cried
And loved and reached and touched and felt.
Lester sat amid his wealth
Stacked mountain-high like stacks of gold,
Sat and counted- and grew old.
And then one Thursday night they found him
Dead-with his wishes piled around him.
And they counted the lot and found that not
A single one was missing.
All shiny and new-here, take a few
And think of Lester as you do.
In a world of apples and kisses and shoes
He wasted his wishes on whishing.
NO DIFFERENCE
Small as a peanut, big as a giant,
We’re all the same size
When we turn off the light.
Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We’re all worth the same
When we turn off the light.
Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light.
So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for god to just reach out
And turn off the light!
LOVE
Ricky was “L” but he’s home with the flu,
Lizzie, our “O,” had some homework to do,
Mitchell, “E” prob’ly got lost on the way,
So I’m all of love that could make it today.
POOR ANGUS
Oh what do you do, poor Angus,
When huger makes you cry?
“I fix myself an omelet, sir,
Of fluffy clouds and sky.”
Oh what do you wear, poor Angus,
When winds blow down the hills?
“I sew myself a warm cloak sir,
of hope and daffodils.”
Oh what do you love, poor Angus,
When Catherine’s left the moor?
“Ah, then, sir, then’s the only time
I feel I’m really poor.”
I WON’T HATCH!
Oh I am a chickie who lives in an egg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
The hens they all cackle, the roosters al beg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
For I hear all the talk of pollution and war
As the people all shout and the airplanes roar,
So I’m staying in here where it’s safe and it’s warm,
And I WILL NOT HATCH!
FORGOTTEN LANGUAGE
Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
In my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
Of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying
Flake of snow,
Once I spoke the language of the flowers…
How did it go?
How did it go?
MAGIC
Sandra’s seen a leprechaun,
Eddie touched a troll,
Laurie danced with witches once,
Charlie found some goblins’ gold.
Donald heard a mermaid sing,
Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known
I’ve had to make myself.
LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS
Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON”TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
RAIN
I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.
I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can’t do a headstand-
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said-
I’m just not the same since there’s rain in my head.
HECTOR THE COLLECTOR
Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that round not right.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin’ guns that wouldn’t shoot
Leaky boats that wouldn’t float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn’t toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks,
Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
‘Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Tree-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul-
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more then glistenin’ gold.
Hector called to all the people,
“Come and share me treasure truck!”
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked… and called it junk.
LESTER
Lester was given a magic wish
By the goblin who lives in the banyan tree,
And with his wish he wished for two more wishes-
So now instead of just one wish, he cleverly had three.
And with each one of these
He simple wished for three more wishes,
Which gave him three old wishes, plus nine new.
And with each of these twelve
He slyly wished for three more wishes,
Which added up to forty-six- or is it fifty-two?
Well anyway, he used each wish
To wish for wishes ‘til he had
Five billion, seven million, eighteen thousand thirty-four.
And then he spread them on the ground
And skipped and sang, and then sat down
And wished for more.
And more… and more… they multiplied
While other people smiled and cried
And loved and reached and touched and felt.
Lester sat amid his wealth
Stacked mountain-high like stacks of gold,
Sat and counted- and grew old.
And then one Thursday night they found him
Dead-with his wishes piled around him.
And they counted the lot and found that not
A single one was missing.
All shiny and new-here, take a few
And think of Lester as you do.
In a world of apples and kisses and shoes
He wasted his wishes on whishing.
NO DIFFERENCE
Small as a peanut, big as a giant,
We’re all the same size
When we turn off the light.
Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We’re all worth the same
When we turn off the light.
Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light.
So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for god to just reach out
And turn off the light!
LOVE
Ricky was “L” but he’s home with the flu,
Lizzie, our “O,” had some homework to do,
Mitchell, “E” prob’ly got lost on the way,
So I’m all of love that could make it today.
POOR ANGUS
Oh what do you do, poor Angus,
When huger makes you cry?
“I fix myself an omelet, sir,
Of fluffy clouds and sky.”
Oh what do you wear, poor Angus,
When winds blow down the hills?
“I sew myself a warm cloak sir,
of hope and daffodils.”
Oh what do you love, poor Angus,
When Catherine’s left the moor?
“Ah, then, sir, then’s the only time
I feel I’m really poor.”
I WON’T HATCH!
Oh I am a chickie who lives in an egg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
The hens they all cackle, the roosters al beg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
For I hear all the talk of pollution and war
As the people all shout and the airplanes roar,
So I’m staying in here where it’s safe and it’s warm,
And I WILL NOT HATCH!
FORGOTTEN LANGUAGE
Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
In my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
Of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying
Flake of snow,
Once I spoke the language of the flowers…
How did it go?
How did it go?
