The Bear, The Fire, And The Snow

'I live in fear of the snow,' said the bear.
'Whenever it's here, be sure I'll be there.
Oh, the pain and the cold,
when one's bearish and old.
I live in fear of the snow.'

'I live in fear of the fire,' said the snow.
'Whenever it comes then it's time I must go.
with its yellow lick flames
leaping higher and higher,
I live in fear of the fire.'

'I live in fear of the river,' said the fire.
'It can drown all my flames anytime it desires,
and the thought of the wet
makes me sputter and shiver.
I live in fear of the river.'

'I live in fear of the bear,' said the river.
'It can lap me right up, don't you know?'

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poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Jimmy Jet And His TV Set

I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet--
And you know what I tell you is true.
He loved to watch his TV set
Almost as much as you.

He watched all day, he watched all night
Till he grew pale and lean,
From 'The Early Show' to 'The Late Show'
And all the shows in between.

He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,
And his bottom grew into his chair.
And his chin turned into a tuning dial,
And antennae grew out of his hair.

And his brains turned into TV tubes,
And his face to a TV screen.
And two knobs saying 'vert.' and 'horiz.'
Grew where his ears had been.

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poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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No Thank You

No I do not want a kitten,
No cute, cuddly kitty-poo,
No more long hair in my cornflakes,
No more midnight meowing mews,
No more scratchin', snarlin', spitters
No more sofas clawed to shreds,
No more smell of kitty litter,
No more mousies in my bed.
No, I will not take that kitten--
I've had lice and I've had fleas,
I've been scratched and sprayed and bitten,
I've developed allergies.
If you've got an ape, I'll take him,
If you have a lion, that's fine,
If you brought some walking bacon,
Leave him, here, I'll treat him kind.
I have room for mice and gerbils,
I have beds for boars and bats,
But please, please take away that kitten--
Quick--'fore it becomes a cat.

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poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Acapulco Goldie

She was dancin' when I seen her, in a Mexican cantina
In a neighborhood they call 'La Zona Roja'.
She had a child's smile, but she told me in a while
It would take a lot of gold to get to know her.

Acapulco Goldie, donde did you go.
You said you'd always hold me
But you run away with me Acapulco Gold.

I knew there's no one cuter, then she said she was a puta.
I said, 'What does puta mean?' And she told me...oh no...
Then we went to meet a dealer, we smoke and drink tequila.
Then the lights went out and I guess that's when she rolled me.

Just like Acapulco Goldie, por que did you go.
You said you'd always hold me.
But you vamos away with me Acapulco Gold.
Ya ya, you run away with me Acapulco Gold.

poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Little Green Buttons

The honeymoon ended a decade ago,
If he still loves her he don't say so,
So she's taking her blues to the House af Tattoos,
Getting little green buttons on her birthday suit.
Little green buttons all in a row
From her face to the place they ain't never gonna slow.
Might sound crazy but they sure look cute,
Those little green buttons on her birthday suit.
She had supper in the oven when he came home,
Now he's snoring on the sofa to the Late, Late Show.
It was ten days later before he knew
'Bout those little green buttons on her birthday suit.
But now she's living in a house of love,
She's got his attention, he can't get enough
He spends every evening trying to undo
The little green buttons on her birthday suit.

poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Kick It Again

So you heard there was a spark of love that I have for you
You come back to kill it like you always do
You found it weak and tremblin' hangin' on just by a thread
And you kicked it choke it stepped on it and broke it left it half to death
Kick it again it's still breathing
Kick it again I think I seen it move just a little bitty
Kick it again it's still living
So kick it again and then again and then you'll kill my love for you
[ harmonica - guitar ]
You're gonna have to do much more this time than a-make it crawl
A cheatin' on it doesn't seem to work at all
And it won't do no good to try to shame it to death
Cause it's raspin' gaspin' crawlin' callin' to you with each dying breath
Kick it again it's still breathing...

poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Kiss It Away

There´s a shadow on the sun I see it risin´
Kiss it away, Kiss it away
And there´s hurt down deep inside that I been hidin´
Kiss it away, Kiss it away
All the hard times we been through
We´d never mind them
We´d kiss ´em away, we´d just kiss ´em away
But now I´m lookin for the good times and I can´t find them
Guess we kissed them away, Must have kissed them away
Kiss away I keep thinkin´ the sun will shine once more
I´m never ready for the sudden rain
Don´t tell me I´m wrong, ´cause I been told
I feel so wet and cold
Come my pain
You keep hopin´ things´ll change and I keep tryin´
One of these days, maybe one of these days
But there´s a coldness in the air like somethin´ dyin'
Kiss it away, Come and kiss it away

poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Bituminous?

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 mean they're carnivorous?
Or were they brontosauruses
And were they herbivorous?
A camel is a pachyderm -
Or do I mean dromedary?
Is this match inflammable?
I thought it was incendiary.
Octagons - no hexagons -
No, heptagons have seven sides.
And don't spray fruit with pesticides -
Or do I mean insecticides?

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poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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All The Time In The World

Lay down
Let's explore this tenderness between us
There ain't no one around at all to see us
And baby would you mind
If maybe you and I
Took a little time to find each other?

Baby , We got all the time in the world
So why don't we just take it nice and slow?
We got everything we need
To plant a lovin' seed
And all the time we need to watch it grow.

Stay down
Stay at least until the fire stops burnin'
At least until the room has stopped it's turnin'
And when the embers dyin'
We're lyin' in the afterglow
It'll be as sweet as anything we've ever known

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poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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One Inch Tall

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 only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,
You'd swing upon a spider's thread,
And wear a thimble on your head
If you were one inch tall.

You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb.
You'd run from people's feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,
(This poem took fourteen years to write--
'Cause I'm just one inch tall).

poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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