Poem in my Pocket

Many would expect me to choose some profound poem about life or death by some of the greatest like Keats or Yeats or Blake or Bishop. I really do have a fond memory or two of some undergraduate explications of “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (I was determined that urn was really a metaphor for a woman – seriously). But, I’ve decided today to go with the poem that has always spoken to me:

Shel Silverstein’s “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me, too.” 

In the fourth grade, I had an opportunity to participate in a grade level play. I can’t remember exactly what it was called or what the point was, but I do know that there were many poems recited. I wanted so badly to have my own part, so I memorized Silverstein’s poem about the three guys who “went for a ride in a flying shoe.” I used this poem to audition, and sadly, I didn’t get any type of starring role.

Regardless of that outcome, I still remember the first two stanzas by heart, and the poem sends me back to being nine years old and enjoying the fun of poetry…before the days of deep poetry analysis and explication.

When Miss Sassy Pants gets off the bus today, I plan to recite the poem to her and her brother. She’ll think I’m crazy, and that’s just perfect.

I’m using the hashtag #pocketpoem today to participate in this National event. What is your favorite poem?

Image Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shel_Silverstein_Signature.svg