LISTEN TO THE MUSTNTS
Listen to the MUSTNTS, child,
Listen to the DONTS
Listen to the SHOULDNTS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONTS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
JIMMY JET AND HIS TV SET
Ill tell you the story of Jimmy Jet-
And you know what I telll you is true.
He loved to watch his TV set
almost as much as you.
He watched all day, he watched all night
Till he grew pale and lean,
From "The Early Show" to "The Late Late Show"
And all the shows between.
He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,
And his bottom grew into his chair.
And his chin turned into a tuning dial,
And antennae grew out of his hair.
And his brains turned into TV tubes,
And his face to a TV screeen.
And two knobs saying "VERT" and "HORIZ."
Grew where his ears had been.
And he grew a plug that looked like a tail
So we plugged in little Jim.
And now instead of him watching TV
We all sit around and watch him.
ERALY BIRD
Oh, if youre a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.
If youre a bird, be an early early bird-
But if youre a worm, sleep late.
SKY SEASONING
A piece of sky
Broke off and fell
Through the crack in the ceiling
Right into my soup,
KERPLOP!
I really must state
That I usually hate
Lentil soup, but I ate
Every drop!
Delicious delicious
(A bit like plaster),
But so delicious, goodness sake-
I could have eaten a lentil-soup lake.
Its amazing the difference
A bit of sky can make.
Boa Constrictor
Oh, Im being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
Im being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I dont like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
Its nibblin my toe.
Oh, gee,
Its up to my knee.
Oh my,
Its up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
Its up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
Its up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
Its upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff . . .
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?
One Inch Tall
Buy Shel Silversteins Poetry
If you were only one inch tall, youd ride a worm to school.
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
A crumb of cake would be a feast
And last you seven days at least,
A flea would be a frightening beast
If you were one inch tall.
If you were only one inch tall, youd walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,
Youd swing upon a spiders thread,
And wear a thimble on your head
If you were one inch tall.
Youd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
You couldnt hug your mama, youd just have to hug her thumb.
Youd run from peoples feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,
(This poem took fourteen years to write--
Cause Im just one inch tall).
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 cant do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
Im just not the same since theres rain in my head.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes well walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And well go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.