In the early morning peace and solitude, I had selected at random a book called ‘Where the Sidewalk Ends‘ from the bookshelf of my library. I do not remember when I read it last. Nor do I remember the content of the book. The fight for bread took away everything from me. Hence, I began reading it once again. It is my earnest dream to read all the books once more before I commence my eternal journey after the brief stopover on this planet. I am bowled away with the simplicity and profoundness of this poem.
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 do not pay attention to me’.
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
‘I know what you mean,’ said the little old man.
The above beautiful and profoundly meaningful poem is written by Shel Silverstein. It is taken from his book “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. This book was published in 1974. I request the readers not to confuse the book with the 1950 movie with a similar title – Where the Sidewalk Ends.
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional. What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
