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.

I sympathise with the little boy and the old man as they are neglected by others in life. The fact that both of them dropped their spoons, shows that they are clumsy, wet their pants and cry show that they cannot contol their body and emotions. They thus have the same bad habits and find themselves quite similar with only a difference which is age. Once the boy said that the grown-ups don't pay attention to him, the old man held his hand tightly as he had also gone through the exact same thing as the boy, being neglected. The old man understands how the little boy feels and used actions to convey the message that he is also in the same boat as the boy. The old man can be seen to be the future when he is of no use and others, for example his children, leave him alone as they are busy contributing to the society that they forgot about him. The little boy could be seen as the past when he has not learnt many things in life yet and others, for example his parents, also neglect him as he too, is of no contribution to the society and the parents have to work. In this poem you can see the similarities in their habits but also the fact that they are left alone, neglected by the adult population because of work. The old man represents what the future would be like and the little boy, the past. That is what makes them different.

About the author: Shel Silverstein is a poet known for his 'tongue-in-cheek' humour, but because he manages to convey a deep, profound meaning about human relationships through his poems. Not only is he a poet, he is also a singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books. Translated into 20 languages, his books have sold over 20 million copies.