Happy Birthday: Shel Silverstein
First off, I would like to say that I love this poem. With that off my chest I now must attempt to pull deep meaning out of this poem. Clearly this poem is self-consolation, “what if no one came to my party”. A fear that I’m sure most kids have had to some extent, be it large or small. But, Mr. Silverstein has turned this fear on its head, ‘who cares, more for me!’. This poem is my anthem. Sure, it would suck if you were all alone on your big day, but that doesn’t mean that you have to feel sorry for yourself, you can party just as hard by yourself as you could if your friends were there. Which is where the beauty of the poem comes in again the reader can see a simple and innocent poem carrying a deeper message, it’s not about who ‘come to your party’ or even how many friends you have that makes you who you are, and you shouldn’t let your friends (or lack there of) define who you are, or how you feel. It’s your birthday, it’s your life, and you can have fun even if no one wants to celebrate it with you.
Sir William the Bold, at Large 
I like how you find peace and victory in a poem that glorifies being a loner. I don’t think you are a loner but it’s cool that you can still be positive if you think you are in such a circumstance. I hope that you will always have friends.
I found this poem to be very intriguing since I really can’t relate to it at all. I’m not someone that really cares about parties or recognition so I don’t really share the same view as you regarding everyone’s fear of nobody showing up at their party. I live my life to the fullest every day. I go as hard as I can with as little regret as possible so I don’t really think that a birthday is anything special. It’s just another day to me. This poem certainly gives off the vibe of “carefree-ness” and I think it’s a wonderful poem though I can’t really relate to it.