The title of the poem “Where the Sidewalk Ends” is a continuous refrain that appears several times throughout, beginning with the very first line. This opening phrase establishes the meaning of the title, the tone of the poem, and its driving force: “There is a place where the sidewalk ends / and before the street begins” (Lines 1-2). Because a sidewalk and a street are usually right up against each other, this creates a sense of a place out of time and beyond the known realities of the world. This idea of a place that is not quite one thing and not quite another is a common motif in traditional myth and folklore; it presents the idea of a threshold between two states of being, which becomes an extended metaphor throughout the poem for the threshold between childhood and adulthood.

The following phrases in the first stanza expand on this threshold place with more concrete yet dreamlike details: “the grass grows soft and white / […] the sun burns crimson bright / […] the moon-bird rests […] / […] in the peppermint wind” (Lines 3-6).