“What If…”

Posted on

“Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I’m dumb in school?
Whatif they’ve closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there’s poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don’t grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won’t bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don’t grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!”

The poem above is a little blurb from Shel Silverstein’s book A Light in the Attic. Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite poets in the whole world because his word choice in his sentence structure on his poems are absolutely phenomenal—each and every sentence flowed like butter on a skillet. I also love the figurative language in his poems, “Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear and pranced and partied all night long and sang their same old Whatif song…”. Not only was this such a fun poem to read, but it could also relate to so many people. The world is full of curiosity that can’t be tamed; day after day questions float and fly about the atmosphere. Especially everyone’s favorite…”What if?”.