Every Thing On It
by Shel Silverstein
★★★★★
I was raised on Silverstein’s poetry collections and my well-worm copies of Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light In the Attic, and Falling Up have a permanent spot of my favorites shelf. I even memorized one of his poems (on ice cream flavors) for a junior high speech competition.
So I’ve been looking forward to this one since I found out about it. The posthumously published collection includes some gems. Most are funny, some are sweet and every so often you stumble on one that’s poignant as well.
Here’s my particular favorite…
SPIDER
A spider lives inside my head
Who weaves a strange and wondrous web
Of silken threads and silver strings
To catch all sorts of flying things,
Like crumbs of thoughts and bits of smiles
And specks of dried-up tears,
And dust of dreams that catch and cling
For years and years and years ….
One of the final poems in the book is a bittersweet encouragement to potential poets out there…
WHEN I AM GONE
When I am gone what will you do?
Who will write and draw for you?
Someone smarter–someone new?
Someone better–maybe YOU!
BOTTOM LINE: Silverstein’s poems have a playfulness that makes them fun for readers of all ages. I loved this new book and just like his others, I know I’ll be reading it over and over again in future years.
Image from here.
