poem "Hector the Collector" (Shel Silverstein)
- Author: Shel Silverstein
- Publisher:
From the book Where the sidewalk ends (1974).
Text
- Hector the Collector
- Collected bits of string,
- Collected dolls with broken heads
- And rusty bells that would not ring. Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
- Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
- Paper bags and broken bricks.
- Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
- Gatlin' guns that wouldn't shoot,
- Leaky boasts that wouldn't float
- And stopped-up horns that wouldn't toot. Butter knives that had no handles,
- Copper keys that fit no locks
- Rings that were too small for fingers,
- Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.
- Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
- 'Lectric trains that had no tracks,
- Airplane models, broken bottles,
- Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
- Hector the Collector
- Loved these things with all his soul--
- Loved them more then shining diamonds,
- Loved them more then glistenin' gold.
- Hector called to all the people,
- "Come and share my treasure trunk!"
- And all the silly sightless people
- Came and looked ... and called it junk.