I am going to confess something to y’all. I do not read poetry. I just don’t get it. When a customer comes in looking for poetry, I am crossing my fingers that they ask for a poet that I know about, especially if Adie is not working. I am always passing a poetry customer over to Adie (our resident poet) because she will be able to help them so much more than I could ever think about.
Hannah sent an email out asking us to write a poetry blog to celebrate April being National Poetry Month. I immediately broke out in a sweat. I was discussing my dilemma with Jamie saying that really the only poetry I have ever loved was some I had read as a child. He urged me to write about it.
I loved Shel Silverstein when I was 
young. I had poems memorized and would recite them when I thought the time was right. So today I went in OZ and picked up a copies of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic and found some poems to share with you.
HUG O’ WAR
I will not play at tug o’ war.
I’d rather play at hug o’ war,
Were everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.
LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS
Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me —
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
NO DIFFERENCE
Small as a peanut,
Big as a giant,
We’re all the same size
When we turn off the light.Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We’re all worth the same
When we turn off the light.Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light.So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for God to just reach out
And turn off the light!
CHANNELS
Channel 1’s no fun.
Channel 2’s just news.
Channel 3’s hard to see.
Channel 4 is just a bore.
Channel 5 is all jive.
Channel 6 needs to be fixed.
Channel 7 and Channel 8–
Just old movies, not so great.
Channel 9’s a waste of time.
Channel 10 is off, my child.
Wouldn’t you like to talk awhile?
SENSES
A Mouth was talking to a Nose and an Eye.
A passing listening Ear
Said “Pardon me, but you spoke so loud,
I couldn’t help but overhear.”
But the Mouth just closed and the Nose turned up
And the Eye just looked away,
And the Ear with nothing more to hear
Went sadly on its way.
I just felt the time was right.
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