“Where the Sidewalk Ends”, by the children’s poet Shel Silverstein, was written in 1974 and published in a book of poems by the same name. The poem, although written for children, is a beautiful reminder to adults and children alike to get out of our own heads every once in a while. Silverstein contrasts the darkness that sometimes encompasses adult life with the sprightly world of children, who lead us out of that darkness and over to “the place where the sidewalk ends”. 

“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.”

Image Credits:
Feature Image: Frans Van Heerden, on Pexels, Creative Commons