Friday, April 15, 2011

The Bippolo Seed

Oh, the wonderful things you can find when you look!
But I never expected a brand-new Seuss book!

I remember the days when I’d sit on the lap
Of my mum or my pop, or my grand-dad, perhap,
And they’d read me a book, and then send me to nap.
The book was a magical key, so it seems,
To astonishing things I would see in my dreams
There was Horton the Elephant; Thidwick the Moose;
Thing One and Thing Two in my house, on the loose!
Oobleck, and Wockets, and Sneetches, and Yertle,
And off like a rocket, to dreamland I’d hurtle.
There were months at a time I believed I was Sam,
And my dreams would revolve around Green Eggs and Ham
To this day, it’s a part of the person I am.

So I’m happy to tell you the wonderful news
There’s a book coming out, you can buy if you choose—
A collection of stories once scattered and lost,
Or in old magazines, now forgotten or tossed
But now gathered together, at minimal cost.
I don’t know about you, but I’m off to buy mine;
If I’m lucky, then maybe I’ll see you in line.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Bartholomew Cubbins! And his epic struggle with the oobleck! and...my favorite, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

Do you remember "And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street"? I loved that one, especially, too.

Dr. Seuss's wonderful poems and stories and fantstical illustrations said to me: "It's good to be silly. It's good to stretch your imagination. Poetry is fun! And oh by the way, here's some insight on how we can live peacefully togther."

Thank you for your clever poetic tribute to the Good Doctor.

Die Anyway said...

I heard about this on NPR on my commute home last night and my very first thought was, "I wonder if Digital Cuttlefish ever writes in Seuss-style?" I guess this answers my question. :-)

Eat well, stay fit, Die Anyway!

Cuttlefish said...

D.A.--

Seuss style is a *lot* harder to write in than it looks; I've tried it a few times (Today's doesn't count, cos I was in a hurry), and have never been quite satisfied with the result. Partly I think it is because I tend not to do much revision, and it takes a lot of work, a lot of revising, a lot of effort to make something look as effortless as Seuss does.

Melissa said...

One more book on my wishlist. I'll never get through them all at this rate.

entropy said...

Aww, that is so awesome!

Too bad his estate is so bloody evil. Makes me not want to ever pay for a new copy of anything Seuss. Used or library or otherwise loaned, my copy of this book will have to be.

But it is still so cool.

Die Anyway said...

I like doing cryptoquotes and a couple of days ago I solved one that happened to be a Dr. Seuss quote:

UNLESS SOMEONE LIKE YOU CARES A WHOLE AWFUL LOT, NOTHING IS GOING TO GET BETTER. IT'S NOT.
- DR. SEUSS

That just sort of struck home. And it's an odd meter (to me anyway) but it works so well to give just the right emphasis.
One of the reasons I enjoy reading D.C. poetry (aside from the topics) is the variety of meter. Some flows easily but some I have to work at. But that's a good thing.