Poetry Reflections 2-16-15 (Where the Sidewalk Ends) 2-16-15

Prompt:  Based on the poems you researched last week, choose one of the poems to write about in your Poetry response. You may draw or find a graphic for your visualization, but make sure to explain your rationale for what you choose.

Date:  2-16-15

Poem 2:  Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein)

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know

The place where the sidewalk ends.

Write Up:

I chose this poem because of how it left me with a question about the meaning, when I was finished.  It might be different with other people, but I had to really think about what was supposedly laying beyond the sidewalk.  Then, I interpreted the poem into the thought that Shel Silverstein was referring to new opportunities after a negative situation.

Considering there are several great poems that provoke readers with all kinds of different thoughts, I believe that there's no right or wrong answer to the question of the poem's meaning and/or topic, but to me, new opportunities, fresh starts, and the fact that there'll always be tomorrow for another chance or a better possible turnout were featured in the poem. I'm going to do my best to describe my visualizations of the poem. I pictured a child drearily walking through the doorway of a house, with rain pouring down around him and trudging up the stairs to his bedroom, but then coming down the next morning with a spring in his step, and bounding out the door with a smile on his face, into the warm sun. I also literally pictured a cracked and broken down sidewalk, that led into a busy, organized street. Where everything successful and big happens. I thought of the sidewalk as the tough path you take to fortune and fame.

This poem reminded me of any famous sports player who had to work and practice to achieve their goal. Take Michael Jordan for example. All the practice and effort he put into sports like basketball, which took up a good chunk of his time, and he didn't even make his college team! That was his sidewalk, but after all that, he was on the road. In the NBA, the best in the NBA. That's what this poem reminded me of.