Most of my social media posts this week focused on Dr. Seuss. He was one of my favorite authors as a child, and that hasn’t changed now that I’m an adult. (Maybe I’m just a kid at heart.)
Now, I know there is no emulating the master himself, but in honor of Dr. Seuss (his birthday is March 2, so I’ve devoted the week to him) I’ve written a Seuss-style story for writers. If he’s watching from the great beyond, I hope he takes it in the spirit it was intended—a tribute, not a poor imitation. (I hope you take it that way, too.)
Without further ado…
The Town of Aycan
Each morning I wake in my cold-sheeted bed.
I stretch and I struzle, scratch my messy-hair head.
I look out my window at the Land of Aycant,
watch the breeze blow the leaves of each ideaolous plant.
Scrubazou in the shower, comb through my hair,
dress in my casual no-one-cares wear.
I sit with my laptop, stare at the blank screen.
Wonder how to make readers see what I’ve seen.
Words like magnanimous, odoriferous, vile,
capricious, benevolent, svelte, and beguile
tumble and flumble through my overtaxed brain.
But my efforts to use them all end up in vain.
My mind’s all snurf-agled, my thoughts ramble-ringers.
My stories can’t get from my head through my fingers.
That’s life in the frustrating Land of Aycant.
Lots and lots of ideas, but progress is scant.
The ideaolous plants are in full bloom and bud,
but the ideas won’t translate; every draft is a dud.
Why do I stay here? It’s not healthy, not fun.
If I leave here posthaste, I can get a lot done.
I glance at the map, plot a courseous course,
and climb on the back of my horsious horse.
He gallops and gimbles and follows my plan,
doesn’t stop till we get to the town of Aycan.
We trot right through the streets to the heart of Town Square.
I clamber off the saddle, rejoice that I’m there.
Open my laptop, start tapping the keys…
Writing my stories is now such a breeze.
Words flow freely, great plotacular plots,
world-building words, character dialogue and thoughts.
All it took was one little attitude fix,
and now I have access to my whole bag of tricks.
When inspiration is gone and you have no worthy plan,
take a successfulous trip to the Town of Aycan.
Rest in Peace, Dr. Seuss. You are missed.
Oh Staci the things you will see. The places you will go when you believe. Isn’t it funny that self doubt comes and self doubt goes depending on the mind set. But you my friend have been to the city of Aycan more times than I and I am inspired by you. LOVE this tribute to the king of verse. Have a great day, I was doubting my dreams this very morning. Your post gave me the swift kick in the imaginary behind that I needed. Thank you.
Kath, I’m so glad this message came to you just when you needed it most. I may have been to Aycan before, but there’s plenty of room there. Can’t wait to hear about the first of your many future visits there!
Love this Stacy – love the word “successfulous” too 🙂 Great post!
Thanks, Lorna. I kind of liked that word, too. In fact, I might start using it more often!
I enjoyed this very much. I believe that Dr. Seuss would be honored. It made me smile. 🙂
Thanks, Michele. I appreciate that.
Staci, I love this! It’s a fun read and so inspirational! And now we’ve discovered another talent of yours – children’s books.
Blessings,
Joan
I don’t think I’d go that far, Joan. (Honestly, in some respects, I think a children’s story is HARDER to write than an adult one.) But I appreciate your enjoyment. I’m glad the story came off in the spirit it was intended.
I agree, I think children’s books would be MUCH harder to write. I wrote a short story a few years back where the protagonist was a 10-year-old girl. It was hard to put myself in the mind of a child. I probably won’t do another one like that again.