However, Shel's nephew recently published a posthumous collection of Shel's poetry, which the poet had been working on for the last 20+ years of his life. The poems are all about a bunny rabbit named Runny Babbit, and most of the humor derives from switching the first sound of different words.
My mom bought me a copy of Runny Babbit when I was home last week, and I plauged her with readings and gigglings while we did errands. "Aren't you glad I didn't have this book when I was nine?" I asked. "YES," she replied, in all seriousness. So, while I highly recommend this book to all people with a sense of humor and imagination, you parents of children under 13 need to balance your children's joy against your own sanity.
As usual for Shel's poems, some rely on the accompaning pictures, but I found a short one to share with you.
Runny Huts His Own Cair
Runny gave himself a cairhut
(But he would not admit it).
When his scamma molded him,
He said, "The darber bid it."
So she went to bee the sarber.
The swarber said, "I bear
I did not souch one tingle head
upon your little hare."
1 comment:
Shel is one of my favorites. I love the poem about being sick in Where The Sidewalk Ends. I highly recommend it.
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