Shel Silverstein — The Long-Haired Boy

There was a boy in our town with long hair— I mean really long hair— And everybody pointed at him And laughed at him And made fun of him. And when he walked down the street The people would roar And stick their tongues out And make funny faces And run in and slam their door And shout at him from the window Until he couldn't stand it anymore. So he sat down and cried Till his whole body shook, And pretty soon his hair shook too, And it flapped And flapped— And he lifted— And flew— Straight up in the air like a helicopter. Jenny Ricks saw him and dropped her Knitting and screamed, "It's a flying kid!" Lukey Hastings ran and hid Under Old Man Merrill's car, Miss Terance fainted, Henry Quist Tried to shoot him down, but missed— "I thought he was a crow," he said. And 'round he sailed all through the day, Smiling in the strangest way, With the wind in his hair And the sun in his eyes. We saw him swoop and bank and rise. He brushed the treetops And skimmed the grass On Yerbey's lawn and almost crashed Right into Hansen's silo—but Zoomed up in time and almost hit The courthouse. Old Man Cooley bit Right through his napkin when he saw A kid fly through the diner door— And out of the window, tipping the ladder— Where Smokey was painting, he almost had a Heart attack—he clung to a rafter. The kid flew on— Us runnin' after, Cheering and sweating And screaming, "Hooray!" Mayor Lowry shouted, "Hey— Come down here, kid. We'd like to say How proud of you we are today. Who ever thought our little Town would have a hero in it? So I'd like to proclaim this day—hey, kid! Will you please come down for just a minute?" But the flying kid did not come down. He treaded air above the town, Sort of cryin' and looking down At all of us here on the ground. Then up he flew, up into the clouds, Flapping and flying so far and high, Out past the hills and into the sky Until a tiny speck against the sun Was all we could see of him...then he was gone.