Hippo’s Hope by Shel Silverstein
There once was a hippo who wanted to fly — Fly-hi-dee, try-hi-dee, my-hi-dee-ho. So he sewed him some wings that could flap through the sky — Sky-hi-dee, fly-hi-dee, why-hi-dee-go. He climbed to the top of a mountain of snow — Snow-hi-dee, slow-hi-dee, oh-hi-dee-hoo. With the clouds high above and the sea down below — Where-hi-dee, […]
Hector The Collector by Shel Silverstein
Hector the Collector Collected bits of string, Collected dolls with broken heads And rusty bells that would not ring. Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks, Twists of wires, worn-out tires, Paper bags and broken bricks. Old chipped vases, half shoelaces, Gatlin’ guns that wouldn’t shoot, Leaky boasts that wouldn’t float And stopped-up horns that wouldn’t toot. […]
Hard To Please by Shel Silverstein
(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 is fussy, Jackie is wacky, Tommy is balmy, Mary is scary, Tammy is clammy, Abby is crabby, Patt is batty, Mazie is lazy, […]
Handy Man by Shel Silverstein
Well on a Monday I’ll be slingin’ hash Tuesday I’ll be collectin’ trash And on a Wednesday I might be tendin’ bar Thursday I’ll be the guy who parks your car On a Friday I might be teachin’ school a Saturday finds me hustlin’ pool I got a whole lotta talents in demand that’s why […]
Hamlet As Told On The Street by Shel Silverstein
Now Francisco and Bernardo, they was guardin’ the castle, Leanin’ on their spears, not lookin’ for no hassle, Havin’ themselves a brew or two, When out in the night they hear woo-wooo-wooo. And here comes this ghost, lookin’ ragged and rank, In a rusty suit of armor, goin’ clank, clank, clank. They say, “Hey, Mr. […]
For What She Had Done by Shel Silverstein
She had to die. This Omoo knew. He also knew he could not kill her. Not even try to kill her. Those eyes. Would look at him. Not even try. So, what to do? There was one Ung. Who lived in a cave. Beyond the hard mountain. A foul cave. Far from the village. Ung, […]
For Sale by Shel Silverstein
One sister for sale! One sister for sale! One crying and spying young sister for sale! I’m really not kidding, So who’ll start the bidding? Do I hear the dollar? A nickel? A penny? Oh, isn’t there, isn’t there, isn’t there any One kid that will buy this old sister for sale, This crying and […]
Folk Singer’s Blues by Shel Silverstein
Well, I’d like to sing a song about the chain gang And swingin’ twelve pound hammers all the day, And how a I’d like to kill my captain And how a black man works his life away, but… What do you do if you’re young and white and Jewish? And you’ve never swung a hammer […]
Father Of A Boy Named Sue by Shel Silverstein
(Okay now years ago I wrote a song called A Boy Named Sue and that was okay And everything except then I started to think about it and I thought It is unfair I am looking at the whole thing from the poor kid’s point of view And as I get more older and more […]
Everybody’s Makin’ It Big But Me by Shel Silverstein
Elvis he’s a hero he’s a superstar And I hear that Paul McCartney drives a Rolls Royse car And Dylan sings for millions And I just sing for free Oh everybody’s makin’ it big but me Oh, everybody’s makin’ it big but me Everybody’s makin’ it big but me Neil Diamond sings for diamonds And […]
Enter This Deserted House by Shel Silverstein
But please walk softly as you do. Frogs dwell here and crickets too. Ain’t no ceiling, only blue. Jays dwell here and sunbeams too. Floors are flowers – take a few Ferns grow here and daisies too. Swoosh, whoosh – too-whit, too-woo Bats dwell here and hoot owls too. Ha-ha-ha, hee-hee, hoo-hoooo, Gnomes dwell here […]
Dreadful by Shel Silverstein
Someone ate the baby. It’s rather sad to say. Someone ate the baby So she won’t be out to play. We’ll never hear her whiney cry Or have to feel if she is dry. We’ll never hear her asking “Why?” Someone ate the baby. Someone ate the baby. It’s absolutely clear Someone ate the baby […]
Don’t Give A Dose To The One You Love Most by Shel Silverstein
Don’t give a dose to the one you love most. Give her some marmalade…give her some toast. You can give her the willies or give her the blues. But the dose that you give her will get back to youse. I once had a lady as sweet as a song. She was my darlin’, and […]
Dirty Ol’ Me by Shel Silverstein
Well I was sittin’ up in my crane leftin’ boulders in the rain Can’t get promoted no matter what I do Ah when the forman he comes around and he yells up from the ground He says hold that load up there for a minute or two Cause I got to check some gear down […]
Dance To It by Shel Silverstein
Well hey Miss Go-Go won’t you stop for a minute Cause the song you dance to it got somethin’ in it There’s a lotta things those long funny words can teach ya Yeah but the words don’t reach ya Oh where you’re goin’ you dance to it you dance to it You bop slop flop […]
Crouchin’ On The Outside by Shel Silverstein
One two three four five six seven eight hey baby you’re a little too late I’m standin’ on the outside lookin’ in at you on the inside Lookin’ out at me on the outside lookin’ in Through the window of my madness at a place I never been And you say you understand just what […]
Crocodile’s Toothache by Shel Silverstein
Oh the Crocodile Went to the dentist And sat down in the chair, And the dentist said, “Now tell me, sir, Why does it hurt and where?” And the Crocodile said, “I’ll tell you the truth. I have a terrible ache in my tooth.” And he opened his jaws so wide, so wide, That the […]
Come Skating by Shel Silverstein
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…. I wore roller- They meant ice. ————— The End And that’s the End of the Poem © Poetry Monster, 2021. Poems by topic and subject. Poetry Monster — the ultimate repository of […]
Come After Jinny by Shel Silverstein
He’ll be comin’ down the road at the break of day His head thrown back and his guns tied low He’s comin’ after Jinny wants to take her away but I ain’t gonna let her go Oh he boasted in town but she loved him he said she’d be his with the sun He said […]
Colors by Shel Silverstein
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 it’s silver when it’s wet. And all the colors I am inside Have not been invented yet. ————— The End And that’s […]
Cloudy Sky by Shel Silverstein
The Moon she is a pretty girl who lives up in the stars And that old cloud he’s a great old man who loves her from afar He loves her from afar When Lady Moon smiles down on him ol’ Cloud is all a-wonder So he starts to sing to her and that’s what makes […]
Clarence by Shel Silverstein
Clarence Lee from Tennessee Loved the commercials he saw on TV. He watched with wide believing eyes And bought everything they advertised — Cream to make his skin feel better Spray to make his hair look wetter Bleach to make his white things whiter Stylish jeans that fit much tighter. Toothpaste for his cavities, Powder […]
Channels by Shel Silverstein
Channel 1’s no fun. Channel 2’s just news. Channel 3’s hard to see. Channel 4 is just a bore. Channel 5 is all jive. Channel 6 needs to be fixed. Channel 7 and Channel 8- Just old movies, not so great. Channel 9’s a waste of time. Channel 10 is off, my child. Wouldn’t you […]
Changing Of The Seasons by Shel Silverstein
Oh the changing of the seasons it’s a pretty thing to see And though I find this balmy weather pleasin’ There’s the wind come from tomorrow and I hear it callin’ me And I’m bound for the changing of the seasons Oh it’s blowin’ in Chicago and it’s snowin’ up in Maine And the Islands […]
Captain Hook by Shel Silverstein
Captain Hook must remember Not to scratch his toes. Captain Hook must watch out And never pick his nose. Captain Hook must be gentle When he shakes your hand. Captain Hook must be careful Openin’ sardine cans And playing tag and pouring tea And turnin’ pages of his book. Lots of folks I’m glad I […]
Bury Me In My Shades by Shel Silverstein
In a pad with no heat, up on Sullivan Street, The last of the hipsters lay dyin’. Wearin’ his shades, so like no one could tell Like whether or not he was cryin’. All the junkies and loners An’ coffee shop owners Were all gathered ’round his bed. He took one last puff Of some […]
Bubblin’ Up by Shel Silverstein
I used to be a prancer a one-eyed song and dancer But eyes for true romance I didn’t even try I’d get’em and forget’em But I never could stay with’em Cause I thought my well of love had done run dry But now it’s bubblin’ up I feel it bubblin’ up And you can’t hold […]
Bituminous? by Shel Silverstein
The hard coal’s called bituminous, Or is that anthracite? Stalactites grow down from caves, Or do I mean stalagmites? Those fluffy clounds are nimbus – No – wait – they might be cumulus. And that kid who was raised by wolves – Was he Remus – or Romulus? The brothauruses ate no meat. Does that […]
Bigtime by Shel Silverstein
Hey dragged up my holly and I pull it to a town for the bigtime Hey rig down the road I tore ’em down I’m a bigtime I wheeled right in them swinging doors Out through the window with half of that store Everybody stopped and roared here comes Bigtime Lemme grab me a bottle […]
Better Not Ask Me by Shel Silverstein
(Hey the truth might hurt so I’m tellin’ you now that you better not ask me) Hey you better not ask me where I been all night Why my eyes are shinin’ and my spirit is flyin’ You better not ask if I been doin’ right or I just might tell you And you better […]
Whatif by Shel Silverstein
Last night, while I lay thinking here, some Whatifs crawled inside my ear and pranced and partied all night long and sang their same old Whatif song: Whatif I’m dumb in school? Whatif they’ve closed the swimming pool? Whatif I get beat up? Whatif there’s poison in my cup? Whatif I start to cry? Whatif […]
Weird-Bird by Shel Silverstein
Birds are flyin’ south for winter. Here’s the Weird-Bird headin’ north, Wings a-flappin’, beak a-chatterin’, Cold head bobbin’ back ‘n’ forth. He says, “It’s not that I like ice Or freezin’ winds and snowy ground. It’s just sometimes it’s kind of nice To be the only bird in town.” ————— The End And that’s the […]
The Toucan by Shel Silverstein
Tell me who can Catch a toucan? Lou can. Just how few can Ride the toucan? Two can. What kind of goo can Stick you to the toucan? Glue can. Who can write some More about the toucan? You can! ————— The End And that’s the End of the Poem © Poetry Monster, 2021. Poems by […]
The Meehoo with an Exactlywatt by Shel Silverstein
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, exactly! Exactly what? Yes, I have an Exactlywatt on a chain! Exactly what on a chain? Yes! Yes what? No, Exactlywatt! That’s what I want to know! I […]
Rain by Shel Silverstein
I opened my eyes And looked up at the rain, And it dripped in my head And flowed into my brain, And all that I hear as I lie in my bed Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head. I step very softly, I walk very slow, I can’t do a handstand– I […]
Rain by Shel Silverstein
I opened my eyes And looked up at the rain, And it dripped in my head And flowed into my brain, And all that I hear as I lie in my bed Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head. I step very softly, I walk very slow, I can’t do a handstand– I […]
Picture Puzzle Piece by Shel Silverstein
One picture puzzle piece Lyin’ on the sidewalk, One picture puzzle piece Soakin’ in the rain. It might be a button of blue On the coat of the woman Who lived in a shoe. It might be a magical bean, Or a fold in the red Velvet robe of a queen. It might be the […]
One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein
If you were only one inch tall, you’d ride a worm to school. The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool. A crumb of cake would be a feast And last you seven days at least, A flea would be a frightening beast If you were one inch tall. If you were […]
It’s Dark in Here by Shel Silverstein
I am writing these poems From inside a lion, And it’s rather dark in here. So please excuse the handwriting Which may not be too clear. But this afternoon by the lion’s cage I’m afraid I got too near. And I’m writing these lines From inside a lion, And it’s rather dark in here. ————— […]
God’s Wheel by Shel Silverstein
GOD says to me with a kind of smile, “Hey how would you like to be God awhile And steer the world?” “Okay,” says I, “I’ll give 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 […]