The Silver Fish
While fishing in the blue lagoon,
I caught a lovely silver fish,
And he spoke to me, "My boy," quoth he,
"Please set me free and I'll grant your wish:
A kingdom of wisdom? A palace of gold?
Or all the fancies your mind can hold?
And I said, "O.K." and I set him free,
But he laughed at me as he swam away,
And left me whispering my wish
Into a silent sea.
Today I caught that fish again
(That lovely silver prince of fishes),
And once again he offered me,
If I would only set him free,
Any one of a number of wishes,
If I would throw him back to the fishes.
He was delicious!
Shel Silverstein
Thoughts About Oysters
An oyster has no hand or feet
To put itself in motion.
It never waves or runs to meet
Companions in the ocean.
It has no mouth or nose or eyes
Like other water creatures,
Which makes it hard to recognize
An oyster by its features.
An oyster can't go any place.
It huddles in its shell;
And, though it hasn't got a face,
I guess it's just as well.
An oyster's personality
Is dull beyond expression;
And meeting oysters suddenly
You get a poor impression.
The gayest oyster never spends
Its time in fun or roistering,
Which means an oyster's only friends
Are people who go oystering.
The people greet it with a knife
And lemon juice-and therefore
I often think an oyster's life Is not a life I'd care for.
Kaye Starbird
Anchored
Our anchor's too big for our ship,
So we're sittin' here tryin' to think.
If we leave it behind we'll be lost.
If we haul it on board, we will sink.
If we sit and keep talkin' about it,
It will soon be late for our trip.
It can sure be rough for a sailor
When the anchor's to big for the ship.
Shel Silverstein
Tusk, Tusk
The Walrus got braces,
And that's why his face is
A tangle of wires and steel.
He'll sit and he'll wait
Till his tusks are both straight--
And then think how happy he'll feel!
(But meanwhile, they're ruining his meal.)
Shel Silverstein