recently we've been spending a bit more time in the book section at the thrift store. the other day, as i ran my hands along the tops of the books, my hand stopped when my eyes reached A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. my eyes darted towards jared.
"jar! shel silverstein!"
"who?"
"what! only one of the most influential people in my childhood!"
as we left the thrift store silverstein in hand, jared allowed me a few moments of poetic indulgence. it hurt my heart that the poems of my childhood weren't also a part of his, silly illustrations and all.
here are some of my faves:
"I cannot go to school today, said little Peggy Ann Mckay."
“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.”
“If you are a dreamer come in
If you are a dreamer a wisher a liar
A hoper a pray-er a magic-bean-buyer
If youre a pretender com sit by my fire
For we have some flax golden tales to spin
Come in!
Come in!”
“Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.”
"There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
"I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong."
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What's right for you--just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.”
“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.”
“All The Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin' In The Sun,
Talkin' 'Bout The Things
They Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda Done...
But All Those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All Ran Away And Hid
From One Little Did.”
"And you’ll never guess what I did then---
I DIED”
“My skin is kind of sort of brownish pinkish yellowish white.
My eyes are greyish blueish green,
but I'm told they look orange in the night.
My hair is reddish blondish brown,
but its silver when its wet,
and all the colors I am inside have not been invented yet.”
“She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through,
Then passed right by-
And never knew.”
"What? What's that? What's that you say?You say today is .............. Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!”
5 comments:
LOVE him. i love how he puts such universal principles into poems that a child can understand. shel has my heart.
I cannot go to school today was my heart and sole as a seven year old. who am I kidding... It still is.
Shel 4 lyf!!!!!
soul. hehe
we read his poems every night!
shel silverstein!! ahhh best childhood poems ever. OH MY GOSH! KELLI! in my international children's lit class we did a section on poetry and were asked to find a poem to share with the class... i shared that mustn'ts poem!!! the voice one was my second choice. and that blue skin one is a favorite. okay, they are all just soo good. my children WILL know shel silverstein someday. ahh this post makes me SO HAPPY. best study break i could have asked for.
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