The Little Boy and the Old Man by Shel Silverstein

Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.



1.This poem is a conversation between a young boy and an old man. This boy speaks his heart, and the old man reciprocates. To everything the boy says, the old man replies with a yes, so do I answer. The boy says that he feels neglected by adults, to which the man embraces him and says, he understands. This poem talks about the lack of atention grown-ups can sometimes show toward children. This is a commonly identifiable topic, because in this world we move through conversation ater conversation and we have all been children once. Sometimes, when I talk to a young child myself I also tend to think that the child is not worth the time because I have more impotant things to do and I forget that sometimes the world is best seen through the eyes of a young child. They are creative.

The author Shel Silverstein uses an old man and a young boy. He does not use an adult man or woman, and I think this is because an old man does regress to a child-like thinking. This is not a childish mindset, but rather, life slows down as you get older. You go back to the lifestyle of a young boy, as it were.

The old man says he does whatever the child does: cry, wet his pants, drop a spoon. The old man smiles and agrees, but at he lamenting of being neglected, the old man changes his reaction. He empathises with the boy and puts his warm hand to his, and says he knows what he means. I think this is because the old man also experiences negligence. Perhaps because old people are economically dependent, they rely on their children to support them. And this is why their adult children treat them like children. However, if we think, old people have the most wisdom, and young children have the most innocence. So, the conclusion is that adults neglect children, and because they condescend to children.


2. Shel Silverstein uses some techniques. Firstly, he uses caesura in almost every line. This helps to add more rhythm to the poem.