ATIONS

by Shel Silverstein


If we meet and I say, "Hi,"
That's a salutation.
If you ask me how I feel,
That's consideration.
If we stop and talk awhile,
That's a conversation.
If we understand each other,
That's communication.
If we argue, scream and fight,
That's an altercation.
If later we apologize,
That's reconciliation.
If we help each other home,
That's cooperation.
And all these added up
Make civilization.

(And if I say this is a wonderful poem,
Is that exaggeration?)



from A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, 1981, Harper & Row