I was at Barnes & Noble with my son last night and made a surprising discovery: There’s a newly published book of poems by Shel Silverstein. It’s called Every Thing On It, and is apparently a post-mortem collection of poems he wrote between his 1996 book Falling Up and his death in 1999.
As a big fan since childhood, I read through several poems and found one which I really wanted to share. I took a picture of it so I could copy it later.
MASKS
(The picture on the page depicts two kids walking past each other, wearing VERY large masks that extend a long way above their heads.)
She had blue skin.
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through,
Then passed right by –
And never knew.
Immediately on reading the poem I thought, “Obviously, these are closeted atheists.”
35 comments
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jdon
December 7, 2011 at 1:37 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
My interpretation was that is was a prophetic vision of the Na’vi in war paint.
I like yours better.
pietvrijdenker
December 7, 2011 at 2:21 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Dear Mr/mrs. Silverstein, Kazim etc
To promote skepticism/critical thinking I wrote some questions for the Christian believer. Are you able to put the link to these questions at your blog.
Thank you very much,
The original questions
http://www.freethinker.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=8382
The translation
http://www.freethinker.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=10033
The first one who did this, was Jonathan. This is a good example.
http://www.limbicnutrition.com/blog/tough-questions-for-believers/
By the way: The last part will be translated soon. Maybe you could recommend your readers to use google translate.
Regards,
Piet. (site admin freethinker Netherlands)
Comment1
December 7, 2011 at 5:13 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
From a little pang of sadness I felt I conclude it’s about love. But then it’s that kind of poem.
arensb
December 7, 2011 at 6:05 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
For those who were wondering what the masks look like:
http://socialismartnature.tumblr.com/post/13807203032/photo-masks-by-shel-silverstein
And I disagree with the OP in one small respect: yes, they’re closeted, but I don’t see anything to suggest they’re atheists. They could be any unpopular minority. Well, maybe not gay, since the poem does call them “he” and “she”. I’ve met people who acted dumber than they were, in order to be popular among their peers.
Elipson
December 7, 2011 at 6:45 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
How does that work? Do you put on shelves and he dresses up as a counter?
Ing: I SPEAK FOR THE HIVEMIND GROUPTHINK
December 7, 2011 at 6:59 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Who gets to be the Starbucks?
19Uhr30
December 7, 2011 at 8:44 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I don’t know if they are atheists but they are obviously smurfs!
Wait… Do smurfs ever go to church? Because… well maybe smurfs ARE atheists…
Okay… I have to go and write some atheist smurf fanfiction.
DagoRed
December 7, 2011 at 11:31 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I think Dan Savage might have interpreted this poem a bit differently…
davidct
December 8, 2011 at 12:14 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
As usual our interpretation of a poem tells us as much about ourselves as it does about the poem.
Felipe
December 8, 2011 at 6:44 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I’m pretty much retarded about poems and dance, I’m never moved by them at all.
DagoRed
December 9, 2011 at 7:38 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I’m glad to hear someone else say that for a change. I am the exact same way. I also find song lyrics make me feel retarded as well (even when I like the tune), so I tend to be swayed far more by instrumental music or lyrical music where I don’t know the language (I know — weird) and I can simply appreciate the human voice as simply another instrument. I always figured I was born without that part of the brain that can appreciate language from an aesthetic perspective….
BBB
December 21, 2011 at 8:14 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I fully agree. I tend to like lyrics when they aren’t trying to take themselves too seriously, are made-up language, babble, foreign or just instrumental.
Josh
December 8, 2011 at 9:53 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
This poem is written in a way that the reader can interpret it the way he/she sees fit and it’s not wrong. This interpretation of it is just as valid as any.
Mike Haynes
December 8, 2011 at 10:27 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
It’s a great poem in that as some here have mentioned, it’s very open to interpretation by the reader. In Russell’s case, it could very well apply to the atheists he met in Florida who were so thrilled to talk to each other, because up until that time, they had each felt so isolated.
On a deeper level, I think a lot people go around “wearing masks” and hiding their true selves. It speaks of a quiet desperation that could so easily be lifted with just a little bit of courage.
Escuerd
December 9, 2011 at 2:27 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Clearly this poem is about an alternate history for Mystique from X-Men.
Comment1
December 9, 2011 at 6:14 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I think it’s a noble attempt to prove that dinosaurs and humans didn’t coexist. It fails, but it fails well.
nude0007
December 13, 2011 at 2:25 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
“The Giving Tree” is the greatest book ever written.
Fantomas
December 13, 2011 at 11:23 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
One’s for sure, we truly lost a genius in Shel Silverstein!
Guillaume
December 14, 2011 at 10:47 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
We often forget that there are atheist artists, and not lesser ones.
Engardian
December 15, 2011 at 4:48 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I don’t get it…how does that make them atheists?
Mary
July 18, 2012 at 9:28 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I don’t think it has anything to do with being an atheist. I think it’s about being yourself and not letting your life pass you by hiding who you really are. And if you don’t look around you can miss what you’re looking for.
Martin Wagner
July 18, 2012 at 10:18 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Russell didn’t mean to say it was about atheists, only that the situation it describes can apply to atheists.
Jewel-Mzuri Satchell
August 8, 2012 at 4:02 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
It could also be about Christians or any other religion.It could just be about human beings and their loss of true love. I love Shel Silverstein’s poetry and have shared it with my children, grandchildren and students. They seemed to love it too.
Martin Wagner
August 8, 2012 at 5:28 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Unless you’re talking about Christians in, say, Islamist countries, I’d have to disagree, because the poem’s all about people who keep something about their true natures concealed, not realizing they’ve briefly met someone who actually shares that same hidden self. In America that applies far more to unbelievers than believers.
david candella
December 17, 2012 at 3:44 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
you put to words the emotion this poem evoked in me. thanks
Silverstein is GREAT
September 13, 2012 at 9:47 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I love God and no I don’t want to force it down your throat. But man you’re missing out.
Martin Wagner
September 13, 2012 at 10:09 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I’ve had people tell me that about cocaine. Thanks all the same.
Jake from State Farm
October 28, 2012 at 3:33 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I do not understand at all how you got atheist from this- it just makes no sense. I understand your views but I’m pretty sure the two people are searching for someone like them- but they cover it up. If you could tell me where in this poem it says atheist, you let me know.
Martin Wagner
October 28, 2012 at 7:41 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Uh, hello? It’s because the whole “two people searching for someone like them” thing easily applies to atheists. Why was that hard to grasp?
nuvasoo
November 3, 2012 at 9:41 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
As in any artform, the interpretation of the poem will be different for each person. Arguing is pointless. Everyone who reads this will see “blue” as something different. Atheism, love, even violence or hatred.
Jenkins "BAM" McKane
November 29, 2012 at 10:04 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I think what people were trying to say is that Atheism may be somewhat of a minority religion, if you want to call it that since it is a lack off…, but people don’t usually go searching for partners that are specifically Atheist. You know what I’m saying? Or at least… I don’t know of many who are like “Oh man, I am an Atheist so my partner needs to be”. Nor do very many people hide it… in America anyway. In any case, I agree that the poem is most likely relating to being true to your identities and the sort.
Teddy S
December 11, 2012 at 7:25 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
My personal interpretation was that it was about two people who pretended to hide behind societies norms, when they were perfect for eachother underneat. But they never found one another, because they pretended to be something they’re not.
Gabriela
December 11, 2012 at 10:39 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I just thought they were people who were different. You know, just people who felt they had something different about them that they felt they had to hide to be accepted. So they could be atheists. But also poems have different meanings to every person and a lot of authors like to leave things vague and open to interpretation. That’s why in school when interpreting books and poems they always tell you that there is no right or wrong answer. They ask you what you think about it because everyone has different opinions according to their life experiences.That’s why creativity is so valued, because you always have a different outlook on things.
Walking Wolf
February 4, 2013 at 9:20 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Is it all about you? They had masks to hide their true self, where is the atheistic message? The blue skin? Give me a break. You probably don’t have a god because your ego wouldn’t leave room for it. Their blue could mean the sadness we carry and want to share. Blue=sad. Get it?
In case you were wondering. I was looking for some lyrics by Silverstein and ended up in this inane site.
Martin Wagner
February 4, 2013 at 9:40 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
And you don’t appear to be intelligent enough to have seen Kazim’s point. In a theistic society, filled with hostile and hateful people such as yourself, two atheists might meet without knowing of their shared disbelief. The magic of Silverstein is that his message can mean specific things to different people. You are clearly the one who wants it to be all about you.