poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein

[*FATIMA*]

با سلام خدمت تمامی دوستان.
در این تاپیک قصد داریم مجموعه اشعار شل سیلورستاین را تقدیم حضورتان کنیم .


A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC
There's a light on in the attic
Though the house is dark and shuttered
I can see a flickerin flutter
And I know what it's about
There's a light on in the attic
I can see it from the outside
And I know you're on the inside ... looking' out

[*FATIMA*]

ATIONS
If we meet and I say "Hi
That's a salutation
If you ask me how I feel
That's consideration
If we stop and talk a while
That's a conversation
If we understand each other
That's communication
If we argue , scream and fight
That's an altercation
If later we apologize
That's reconciliation
If we help each other home
That's cooperation
And all these athions added up
Make civilization
(And if I say this is a wonderful poem
Is that exaggeration ? )

[*FATIMA*]

ANTEATER
A genuine anteater
The pet man told my dad
Turned out , it was an aunt eater
And now my uncle's mad

[*FATIMA*]

IMPORTNT
Said little a to big G
"Without me
The sea would be
The se
The flea would be
The fle
And earth and heaven couldn;t be
Without me
Said big G to little a
Even the se
Could crsh nd spry
Nd the fle would fly
In the sme old wy
Nd erth nd heven still would be
Without thee

[*FATIMA*]

GOD'S WHEEL
God says to me with kind of a smile
" Hey how would you like to be God a while
And steer the world
"Okay" says I , I'llgive it a try
where do I set
How much do I get
What time is lunch
When can I quit
Gimme back that wheel , says God
I don"t think you're quite ready yet

[*FATIMA*]

IF
If I had wheels instead of feet
And roses'stead of eyes
Then I could drive to the flower show
And maybe win a prize

[*FATIMA*]

WILD STRAWBERRIES
Are wild strawberries really wild
Will they scratch an adult , will they snap at a child
Shoud you pet them , or let them run free where they roam
Could they ever relax in a steam-heated home
Can they be trained to not qrowl at the guests
Will a litterbox work or would they leave a mess
Can we make them a Cowberry , herding the cows
Or maybe a Muleberry pulling the plows
Or maybe a Huntberry chasing the grouse
Or maybe a Watchberry quarding the house
And though they may curl up at your feel oh so sweetly
Can you ever feel that you trust them completely
Or should we make a pet out of something less scary
Like the Domestic prune or the imported cherry
Anyhow , you've been warned and I will not be blamed
If your wild strawberry cannot be tamed

[*FATIMA*]

COME SKATING
They said come skating
They said it's so nice
They said come skating
I'd done it twice
They said come skating
It sounded nice
Iwore roller -
They meant ice

[*FATIMA*]

DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN
Skeletons , spirits and haunts
Skeletons , spirits and haunts
It's a halloween sale
A nickel a pail
For skeletons , spirits and haunts
Skeletons , spirits and haunts
More than most anyone wants
Will you pay for a shock
Cause we're quite overstocked
On skeletons , spirits and haunts

[*FATIMA*]

REFLECTION
Each time I see the Upside-Down man
Standing in the water
I look at him and start to laugh
Although I shouldn't oughtter
For maybe in another world
Another time
Another town
Maybe HE is right side up
And I am upside up
And I am upside down

[*FATIMA*]

SOMEBODY HAS TO
Somebody has to go polish the stars
They're looking alittle bit dull
Somebody has to go polish the stars
For the eagles and starlings and gulls
Have all been complaining they're tarnished and worn
They say they want new ones we can not afford
So please get your rags
And your polishing jars
Somebody has to go polish the stars

[*FATIMA*]

DINNER GUEST
When the Razor-Tooth Sline
Comes to my house to dine
You may find me in France or Detroit
Or off in khartoum or in the spare room
Of my Uncle Ed's place in beloit
You may find me in philly . Racine or Rabat
You may reach me in Malmo or Ghor
You may see me in Sikkim and likely as not
You willrun in to me at the store
You may find me in Hamburg
Or up in St.Paul
In Kyoto , Kenosha or Name
But one thing is sure , if you find me at all
You NEVER shall find me at home .

[*FATIMA*]

FANCY DIVE
The fanciest dive that ever was dove
Was done by Melissa of Coconut Grove
She bounced on the board and flew in to the air
With twist of her head and a twirl of her hair
She did thirty-four jackknives , backflipped and spun
Quadruple gainered , and reached for the sun
And then somersaulted nine times and a quarter -
And looked down and saw that the pool had no water

[*FATIMA*]

FRAR
Barnabus Browning
Was scared of drowning
So he never would swim
Or get in to a boat
Or take a bath
Or cross a moat
He just sat day and night
With his door locked tight
And the windows nailed down
Shaking with fear
That a wave might appear
And cried so many tears
That they filled up the room
And he drowned

[*FATIMA*]

HITTING
Use a log to hit a hog
Use a twig to hit a pig
Use a rake to hit a snake
Use a swatter to hit on otter
Use a ski to hit a bee
And use a feather when you hit me

[*FATIMA*]

STRANGE
What a strang wind it was today
Whistlin and whirlin and scurlin away
Like a worried old woman with so much to say
What a strange wind it was today
What a strange wind it was today
Cool and clear from a sky so grey
And my hat stayed on but my head blew away
What a strange wind it was today

[*FATIMA*]

PIE PROBLEM
If I eat one more piece of pie . I'll die
If I can't have one more piece of pie . I'll die
So since it's all decided I must die
I might as well have one more piece of pie
MMMM _ OOOH _ MY
Chomp _ Gulp _ Bye

[*FATIMA*]

BEAR IN THERE
There's a polar bear
In our Frigidaire
He likes it cause it's cold in there
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish
He's nibbling the noodless
He's munching the rice
He's slurping the soda
He's licking the ice
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door
And it gives me a scare
To know he's in there
That polary bear
In our Fridgitydaire

[*FATIMA*]

THE OAK AND THE ROSE
An oak tree and a rosebush grew
Young and green together
Talking the talk of growing things
Wind and watwr and weather
And while the rosebush sweetly bloomed
The oak tree grew so higt
That now it spoke of newer things
Eagles , mountain peaks and sky
I guess you think you're pretty great
The rose was heard to cry
Screaming as loud as it possibly could
To the treetop in the sky
And you have no time for flower talk
Now that you've grown so tall
It's not so much that I've grown " said the tree
" It's jast that you've stayed so small

[*FATIMA*]

CATCHING
I tried to catch a cold
As he went running past
On a damp and chilly
Afternoon in autumn
I tried to catch a cold
But he skittered by so fast
That I missed him
But I'm glad to hear you caught him

[*FATIMA*]

BACKWARD BILL
Backward Bill , Backward Bill
He lives way up on Backward Hill
Which is really a hole in the sandy ground
But that's a hill turnd upside down
Backward Bill's got a backward shack
With a big front porch that's built out back
You walk through the window and look out the door
And the cellar is up on the very top floor
Backward Bill he rides like the wind
Don't know where he's going but sees where he's been
His spurs they go "neigh" and his horse it goes "clang
And his six-gun goes "gnab" it never goes "bang
Backward Bill's got a backward pup
They eat their supper when the sun comes up
And he's got a wife named Backward Lil
She's my own true hate " says Backward Bill
Backward Bill wears his hat on his toes
And puts on his underwear over his clothes
And come every payday he pays his boss
And rides off a-smilin a-carryin his hoss

[*FATIMA*]

SHAKING
Geraldine now ' stop shaking that cow
For heaven's sake , for your sake and the cow's sake
That's the dumbest way I've seen
To make a milk shake

[*FATIMA*]

EIGHT BALLOONS
Eight ballons no one was buyin
All broke loose one afternoon
Eight balloons with strings a-flyin
Free to do what they wanted to
One flew up to touch the sun - POP
One thought highways might be fun - POP
One took a nap in a cactus pile - POP
One stayed to play with a careless child - POP
One tried to taste some bacon fryin - POP
One fell in love with a porcupine - POP
One looked close in a crocodile's mouth - POP
One sat around til his air ran out - WHOOSH
Eight balloons no one was buyin
They broke loose and away they flew
Free to float and free to fly
And free to pop where they wanted to

[*FATIMA*]

PREHISTORIC
These lizards , toads and turtles , dear , with which you love to play
Were Dinosaurs and Plesiosaurs in prehistoric days
They fought the armored Ankylosaurs and wild Brontosaurus
Glyptodons and Varanids and hungry Plateosaurus
Sharklike Ichthyosaurs and flying Pteranodon
Tyrannosaurus , Kronosaurus and treacherous Trachodon
Shrieking Archaeopteryx , Triceratops as well
And those that Icannot pronounce , nor even try to spell
But anyway , they slowly turned to lizards and turtles and snakes
And all the brave and wild and woolly prehistoric people
They turned in to us , for goodness' sakes

[*FATIMA*]

PECKIN
The saddest thing I ever did see
Was a woodpecker peckin' at a plastic tree
He looks at me , and " Friend " says he
" Things ain't as sweet as they used to be "

[*FATIMA*]

MEMORIZIN MO
Mo memorized the dictionary
But just can't seem to find a job
Or anyone who wants to marry
Someone who memorized the dictionary

[*FATIMA*]

SQUISHY TOUCH
Everything King Midas touched
Turned to gold , the lucky fellow
Every single thing I touch
Turns to raspberry Jell-O
Today I touched the kitchen wall (squish
I went and punched my brother paul (splish
I tried to fix my bike last week (sploosh
And kissed my mother on the cheek (gloosh
I got in to my overshoes (sklush
I tried to read the Evening News (smush
I sat down in the easy chair (splush
I tried to comb my wavy hair (slush
I took a dive in to the sea (glush
Would you like to shake hands with me (sklush

[*FATIMA*]

CLOONY THE CLOWN
I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small
But he jast wasn't , jast wasn't funny at all
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall
But he just wasn't , just wasn't funny at all
And every time he did a trick
Everyone felt a little sick
And every time he told a joke
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke
And every time he lost a shoe
Everyone looked awfully blue
And every time he stood on his head
Everyone screamed " Go back to bed ! "
And every time he made a leap
Everybody fell asleep
And every time he ate his tie
Everyone began to cry
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny
One day he said " I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown
And he told them all why he looked so sad
And he told them all why he felt so bad
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold
He told of Darkness in his soul
And after he finished his tale of woe
Did everyone cry ? Oh no , no , no
They laughed until they shook the trees
With " hah , hah - Hahs " and " Hee-Hee-Hees
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks
They laughed all day . they laughed all week
They laughed until they had a fit
They laughed until their jakets split
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city , every town
Over mountains , cross the sea
From Saint Tropez to Mun san Nee
And soon the whole world rang with laughter
Lasting till forever after
While Cloony stood in the circus tent
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent
and he said " THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT
And while the world laughed outside
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried

[*FATIMA*]

MY GUITAR
Oh , wouldn't it be a most wondrous thing
To have a guitar that could play and could sing
By itself - what an absolute joy it would be
To have a guitar . . . that didn't need me

[*FATIMA*]

ADVENTURES OF A FRISBEE
The Frisbee , he got tried of sailing
To and fro and to
And thought about the other things
That he might like to do
So the next time that they threw him
He turned there in the sky
And sailed away to try and find
Some new things he could try
He tried to be an eyeglass
But no one could see through him
He tried to be a UFO
But everybody knew him
He tried to be a dinner plate
But he got cracked and quit
He tried to be a pizza
But got tossed and baked and bit
He tried to be a hubcap
But the cars all moved too quick
He tried to be a record
But the spinnin made him sick
He tried to be a quarter
But he was too big to spend
So he rolled home , quite glad to be
A Frisbee once again

[*FATIMA*]

UNSCRATCHABLE ITCH
There is spot that you can't scratch
Right between your shoulder blades
Like an egg that just won't hatch
Here you set and there it stays
Turn andsquirm and try to reach it
Twist your neck and bend your back
Hear your elbows creak and crack
Stretch your fingers , now you bet it's
Going to reach - no that won't get it
Hold your breath and stretch and pray
Only just an inch away
Worse than a sunbeam you can't catch
Is that one spol that
You can't scratch

[*FATIMA*]

THUME FACE
There is a face upon my thumb
I did not paint it there
With pointy ears and winky eyes
And
greenish bristly hair
I keep it hidden from my friends
So that they will not stare
It has a littel twisty mouth
And yellow teethies , too
It snickers when I hold my fork
It giggles when I'm blue
And laughs and laughs and laughs
At everything I try to do

[*FATIMA*]

HOT DOG

I have a hot dog for a pet
The only kind my folks would let
Me get
He does smell sort of bad
And yet
He absoltely never gets
The sofa wet
We have a butcher for a vet
The strangest vet you ever met
Guess we're the weirdest family yet
To have a hot dog for a pet

[*FATIMA*]

MUSICAL CAREER

she wanted to play the piano
But her hands couden't reach the keys
When her hands could finally reach the keys
Her feet couldn't reach the floor
When her hands could reach the floor
She didn't want to play that ol piano anymore

[*FATIMA*]

WHAT DID
What did the carrot say to the wheat
" Lettuce'rest , I'm feeling'beet "
What did the paper say to the pen
" I feel quite all'write my friend "
What did the teapot say to the chalk
Nothing ' you silly . . . teapots can't talk

[*FATIMA*]

WAVY HAIR

I thought that I had wavy hair
Until I shaved . Instead
I find that I have straight hair
And a very wavy head

[*FATIMA*]

LONGMOBILE

It's the world's longest car , I swear
It reaches from Beale Street to Washington Square
And once you get in it
To go where you're going
You simply get out , cause you're there

[*FATIMA*]

BLAME
I want such a beautiful book for you
Bout rainbows and sunshine
And dreams that come true
But the goat went and ate it
(you knew that he would
SoI write you another one
Fast as I could
Of course it could never be
Nearly as great
As that beautiful book
That the silly goat ate
So if you don't like
This new book I just wrote
Blame the goat

[*FATIMA*]

HERE COMES
Here comes summer
Here comes summer
Chirping robin , budding rose
Here comes summer
Here comes summer
Gentle showers , summer clothes
Here comes summer
Here comes summer
Whoosh - shiver - there it goes

[*FATIMA*]

MESSY ROOM

Whosever room this is should be ashamed
His underwear is hanging on the lamp
His raincoal is there in the overstuffed chair
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp
His workbook is wedged in the window
His sweater's been thrown on the floor
His scarf and one ski are beneath the Tv
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door
His books are all jammed in the closet
His vest has been left in the hall
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall
Whosever room this is should be ashamed
Donald or Robert or Willie or
Huh ? You say it's mine ? Oh dear
I knew it looked familiar

[*FATIMA*]

PUT SOMETHING 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