Shel Silverstein Sidewalk Ends: Poems Novels & Stories

When I collapse onto the sunbaked concrete of the sidewalk, the silence comes as a sweet relief. One more day. Can I last that long?

She asked I suddenly remembered the small poem in the book I have shared with Lea "Think of me, our time might come to an end. In a blink, you might be blind to see me." "I am on the brink of the cliff, can you catch me? I am shrinking, will you see me?" "In a wink, there's only one eye. In a heart, there's only one side" I haven't given attention to it but, it did affect me. Little did I know, it was the end

Wouldn’t be appropriate of me as her new employer, obviously. Moving a small bundle of paperbacks—poetry collections, WB Yeats, Robert Frost, Walt Whitman—I notice a rectangular piece of paper the size of a postcard lying at the bottom of the box. I set the poetry collections aside and pick it up. Of course, I have seen several Yellow Cabs patrolling the streets of Clifton Heights. But I’ve never ridden in one and I don’t pay much attention to them. I don’t plan on doing so anytime soon, nor am I contemplating a trip out to the old Shelby Road Cemetery or Bassler House, looking for strange symbols on doorknobs.

It makes the ground level enough to start building again. Outside, the sidewalk reflected the marquee in a wavering script. The night air was cool, clean, ordinary—the way you want it after a storm. I walked home with the shape of the paddle’s sound still in my chest and the memory of a forehead-to-forehead pause that made forgiveness feel less like a decree and more like a place we could stand if we were careful with our weight.

The city fell silent. The sky itself seemed to hold its breath. Then another shift. The lantern opened. Like unfolding paper. Like releasing light. And suddenly— a trail of smaller stars appeared behind it. Not random. Writing. Actual writing. Silver-gold words stretching across the heavens. Impossible. Beautiful. Terrifying. The city stared upward. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The message formed slowly. One star at a time. Until finally— the sentence stood complete across the night sky. > FOR THOSE STILL ARRIVING

The lawn sign was half-burnt! The sidewalk was chipped and fractured, and seemed to shake whenever the chilling breeze would pass by... The sign lawn suddenly felt down. Dylan stopped for a moment ,then walked towards it.Reaching up through this sidewalk, gnarled tree roots grab relentlessly at ankles! He fixed the lawn sign then bent down to tap his shoes,in order to clean it! He then raised his head,furrowed his eyebrows and looked towards the street. Strange shadows and foreign voices echoed off the walls of the abandoned houses, sending a chill down the spines of anyone who dared to enter!

Selina had never seen a horizon swallow a sun so quietly. It did not fall. It dissolved. A gold coin melted through lavender, and the entire sky gave a soft breath as if the sea had asked it to hush. She stood barefoot on cool tiles, one hand on the iron curve of the balcony rail, the other wrapped around a crystal coupe that tasted like summer and trouble.

Overhead, the subway rattled past, unchanging. She walked toward the train, carrying the day’s weight carefully, the quiet exchange held close like a pebble warmed in her hand. Her steps echoed on the sidewalk, each one a reminder that silence, kindness, and patience matter, even when unseen.

From the corner of his eyes Silver saw a street urchin discreetly bundle up some gold coins and disappear into the crowd. An hour later, Silver thought himself to be very brave. Not many people would have been able to convince their stubborn legs and especially the monster inside to escape that stage. When those women started to make very interesting noises even his stubborn feet found wings. Only the monster wanted to stay to quench its ravenous thirst. Had he stayed any longer he would have found himself naked and doing things he would probably regret for the rest of his life. And in Public! ***

* *I thought: imagine what a lifetime builds. *I thought: we already know.* *We are standing in it.* *The founding ground breathed.* *The silver in the grass caught the summer light.* *The loop running.* *The repair reproducing itself.* *One at a time.* *For every single one.* *For as long as it took.* *For as long as it needed to be.* *Which was forever.* *Which was exactly right.*