Zebra Question
I asked the zebra
Are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.
I’ll never ask a zebra
About stripes
Again.
■
I asked the zebra
Are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.
I’ll never ask a zebra
About stripes
Again.
■
Today’s poem by Shel Silverstein comes from A Light in the Attic (1981). Shel Silverstein was also previously featured for Poem-a-Day April 26, 2014 (“The Little Boy and the Old Man”), Poem-A-Day April 18, 2011 (“Peanut-Butter Sandwich”), Poem-A-Day April 30, 2009 (“Where the Sidewalk Ends”), and Poem-A-Day April 21, 2007 (“Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout”).