Nobody - Shel Silverstein

I'm still doing poetry with my Freshman class and I came across one of my favorite poems from when I was growing up from the works of Shel Silvestein.  Shel Silverstein was an extraordinary poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and children's author! And I just love his poetry.  I had to introduce my students to him.  A couple of them had already heard of him but overall he was new to them.  I'm posting one of my favorite poems from Shel.  Enjoy!

                               Nobody

Nobody loves me,
Nobody cares,
Nobody picks me peaches and pears.
Nobody offers me candy and Cokes,
Nobody listens and laughs at my jokes.
Nobody helps when I get in a fight,
Nobody does all my homework at night.
Nobody misses me,
Nobody cries,
Nobody thinks I'm a wonderful guy.
So if you ask me who's my best friend, in a whiz,
I'll stand up and tell you that Nobody is.
But yesterday night I got quite a scare,
I woke up and Nobody just wasn't there.
I called out and reached out for Nobody's hand,
In the darkness where Nobody usually stands.
Then I poked through the house, in each cranny and nook,
But I found somebody each place that I looked.
I searched till I'm tired, and now with the dawn,
There's no doubt about it-
Nobody's gone!

                         -Shel Silverstein (1930-1999)

Thank you, Shel, for giving me such amazing stories and poems which were such an important part of my childhood.  Rest in peace!