When I was younger Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends” was THE book to read. All of the kids were checking it out from the school library and the waiting list to get it was a mile long. I finally got my hands on this book and it was my introduction to poetry and the way words can become more beautiful and have greater meaning when strung together articulately. Silverstein’s words formed in a way I never knew they could, rhyming so wittingly and painting a picture so vivid I felt like a new world had opened up to me. Or maybe he had a way of making my world even more vivid. The artwork next to each poem created a dynamic visual that only served to connect you more with the words spilling off of each page. I was hooked to poetry from then on and would digest the works of Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes and Nikki Giovani in my more formative years. But “Where the Sidewalk Ends” was the catalyst, and upon recently perusing the Target book aisles I saw that it had been re released. I opened it and the words were as poignant as they were back then.
I hope this short poem stands to fill you with as much hope as it has me even after all these years.
What poems or books have shaped your life? Have you read “Where the Sidewalk Ends”?
I used to LOVE shel silverstein asa kid too!! 🙂 i haven’t read his books in such a long time, but i feel like i’d still love them now.