Section: «Poems»

Verse (ancient Greek ὁ στίχος — row, structure), a term in versification used in several meanings: artistic speech organized by division into rhythmically commensurate segments; poetry in the narrow sense; in particular, it implies the properties of versification of a particular tradition ("antique verse", "Akhmatova's verse", etc.); a line of poetic text organized according to a certain rhythmic pattern ("My uncle of the most honest rules").

Hard To Please

(To be said in one breath)Elaine gives me a pain,Gill makes me ill,Winnie is a ninny,Orin is borin'Milly is silly,Rosy is nosy,Junie is loony,Gussie..

© Shel Silverstein

God's Wheel

God says to me with a kind of smile,'Hey how would you like to be God awhileAnd steer the world?''Okay,' says I, 'I'll give it a try.Where do I..

© Shel Silverstein

It's Dark In Here

I am writing these poemsFrom inside a lion,And it's rather dark in here.So please excuse the handwritingWhich may not be too clear.But this afternoon..

© Shel Silverstein

Friendship

I've discovered a way to stay friends forever--There's really nothing to it.I simply tell you what to doAnd you do it!!

© Shel Silverstein

Everybody's Makin' It Big But Me

Elvis he's a hero he's a superstarAnd I hear that Paul McCartney drives a Rolls Royse carAnd Dylan sings for millionsAnd I just sing for freeOh..

© Shel Silverstein

Thumbs

Oh, the thumb-sucker's thumbMay look wrinkled and wetAnd withered, and white as the snow,But the taste of a thumb Is the sweetest taste yet(As only..

© Shel Silverstein

I’m So Good That I Don’t Have To Brag

Now I'm warnin' all you women don't stand too close to me cause you might catch fireNow you're talkin' to a man in a whole other kind of bagWell I'm..

© Shel Silverstein

The Meehoo With An Exactlywatt

Knock knock!Who's there?Me!Me who?That's right!What's right?Meehoo!That's what I want to know!What's what you want to know?Me, who?Yes..

© Shel Silverstein

Tryin' On Clothes

I tried on the farmer's hat,Didn't fit…A little too small - just a bitToo floppy.Couldn't get used to it,Took it off.I tried on the dancer's shoes,A..

© Shel Silverstein

The Generals

Said General Clay to General Gore,'Oh must we fight this silly war?To kill and die is such a bore.''I quite agree,' said General Gore.Said General..

© Shel Silverstein

Homemade Boat

This boat that we just built is just fine--And don't try to tell us it's not.The sides and the back are divine--It's the bottom I guess we forgot....

© Shel Silverstein

I Call That True Love

You gotta wake up every mornin', tip toe in thekitchen cook me great T-bone steakServe it to me in bed go down the street and hustlebring me back all..

© Shel Silverstein

The Sitter

Mrs. McTwitter was the baby-sitterI think she's a little bit crazy.She thinks a baby-sitter's supposedTo sit upon the baby.

© Shel Silverstein

Rain

I opened my eyesAnd looked up at the rainAnd it dripped into my headAnd flowed into my brainSo pardon this wild crazy thing I just saidI'm just not..

© Shel Silverstein

My Mind Keeps Movin’

Walk into a restaurant with chicken on my mindLook at the menu I want roastbeaf and wineA waitress comes up I order baked beans and breadOh when she..

© Shel Silverstein

Show It At The Beach

Oh they won't let us show it at the beach no they won't let us show it at the beachThey think we're gonna grab it if it gets within our reachAnd they..

© Shel Silverstein

Examination

I went to the doctor-He reached down my throat,He pulled out a shoeAnd a little toy boat,He pulled out a skateAnd a bicycle seat,And said 'Be more..

© Shel Silverstein

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..

© Shel Silverstein

The Worlds Greatest Smoke Off

In the laid back California town of sunny San RaphaelLived a girl named Pearly Sweetcake,You probably knew her wellShe was stoned 15 of her 18..

© Shel Silverstein

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 turned upside..

© Shel Silverstein

The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan

The morning sun touched lightly onThe eyes of Lucy JordanIn her white suburban bedroomIn a white suburban town,As she lay there 'neath the..

© Shel Silverstein

Joey

Joey Joey took a stoneAnd knockedDownTheSun!And Whoosh! It swizzledDown so hard.And bloomp! It bouncedIn his backyard.And glunk! It landedOn his..

© Shel Silverstein

Reflection

Each time I see the Upside-Down ManStanding in the water,I look at him and start to laugh,Although I shouldn't oughtter.For maybe in another..

© Shel Silverstein

Helping

Agatha Fry, she made a pieAnd Christopher John helped bake itChristopher John, he mowed the lawnAnd Agatha Fry helped rake itNow, Zachary Zugg took..

© Shel Silverstein

Warning

Inside everybody's noseThere lives a shar-toothed snail.So if youi stick your finger in,He may bite off your nail.Stick it farther up inside,And he..

© Shel Silverstein