Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Now for some fun. Once upon a time, I was an assistant manager of a book store. Our manager assigned each employee a section of the store to keep straight, order replacements, and be able to make recommendations. To help us with the last, we had to read one book from the assigned section each week. He rotated sections monthly. Nobody liked the children’s section, because it was always a mess. I, however, really
looked forward to my stint there (I even traded romance novels for it once), because I got to re-experience many of the books from my childhood as well as discover new ones. Shel Silverstein was probably my best discovery from those days. I could write a dozem but just two short ones. “Drats” first,

Can anyone lend me
Two-eighty-pound rats?
I want to rid my house of cats. (72)

And, “The Bloath,”

In the undergrowth
There dwells a Bloath
Who feeds upon poets and tea
Luckily, I know this about him
While he knows almost nothing of me! (108)

Fun! Simple, smile-inducing, belly-laughing, tear-bringing fun. I love fun poetry.

--Chiron, 1/25/10