Top 5 Shel Silverstein Poems to Memorize

Bridget Ilene Delaney
Shel Silverstein was a great poet. He wrote many fun children's poems and also some adult theme poems. It is fun to memorize those silly children's poems. I can easily say a few and the easiest one that I know is "Can anybody lend me two fifty pound rats? I want to rid my house of cats." It is easy to memorize and remember, but I wouldn't list it as one of the top Shel Silverstein poems to remember.

No Difference/When You Turn Off the Light

This poem is not one that many people remember. They also laugh when it is quoted to support not being racist or prejudice. However, when the last line of "We all look the same when we turn off the light" is reached, it is exactly the point that the poem is making and it should be used to say "it doesn't matter how people look."

Invitation

Parents these days want children to quit imagining at an early age. They want them to deal with the real world and not have childhood fantasies. This is terrible as people have to keep imagining in order to create great plays and great works of fiction. If imagination is not supported, all creativity will be stopped. Shel Silverstein invites the people who imagine, the hopers, wishers, prayers, and even magic bean buyers, to come sit with him by his fire.

The Homework Machine

This poem is great and stresses that no matter how great machines may be, the human brain is better. After all, humans had to design the machines. Humans even designed Watson, who beat Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings on Jeopardy! It was amazing, but humans still did all the programming. This is shown when a simple arithmetic problem is returned with an incorrect answer.

Sour Faced Ann

In general, this poem is just fun to recite. However, a lesson can be learned. That is to be content with what you have. What you want may not always be everything you wished. This is obvious when the fur coat ends up having fleas in it.

There's Too Many Kids in the Tub

There are no lessons in this poem. Instead, it is only fun. However, it is one of the most fun poems to memorize, remember, and recite. It is sure to make people laugh. After all, the images that pop into the mind are silly and they are great if the original picture in the book has been seen. It may make people wonder how many children can fit into one bathtub.

Published by Bridget Ilene Delaney

Bridget Ilene Delaney is the author of "This is My Bucket." She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. She writes many articles on a variety of other subjects. She is interested in diabetes compli...  View profile

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  • Anthony Hopper4/27/2012

    I don't think I've ever read any of the poems...good article though.

  • molly4/17/2011

    im confused

  • Tonya Gurr4/16/2011

    I love reading his work. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

  • Mom4/16/2011

    Two things I want to mention.

    First isn't there a poem about a dog chasing his tail?

    Second I might have typed the poems before writing about them so people could understand what you are talking about.

  • Lori Gunn4/16/2011

    good article :)

  • T L Wilson4/16/2011

    cute article!

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