Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

A Seussical Soul

by Rachel Hoyt

I have a Seussical soul.

When I read Seuss I feel whole.

My imagination spews emulation,

I've a fascination with nameification,

And seek ideation and illumination,

While rhyming in timing,

Vocab-imbibeing,

And smiling

Soul.

© 2012 Rachel Hoyt.  All rights reserved.

YTT - Dr. Seuss Burning Man

Out in the desert, there is a place

that brings a smile to many a face -

Where alter egos abound,

And Much unique art is found,

Where people live wild and free

And roam dirt streets filled with glee.

When Dr. Seuss wrote of places we'd go,

I definitely think he imagined this show.

© 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Rachel Hoyt

Thank you, Boing Boing, for sharing this video!


Josh from "Its Tiger Time" invented You Tube Tuesday so we could each share one video a week which we found to be fun, inspiring or otherwise noteworthy.  If you choose to participate, don't forget to leave your links in my comments section (so I can come visit you) and on Josh's page (so you can be part of the contest).  I hope you like this week's selection!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss said, "Don't cry because it's over.  Smile because it happened."
So that's what I vow to do on this, his birthday, March 2nd.
I know his writing well, but haven't previously studied his personal life.
And, not knowing Seuss fun facts was beginning to cause me mental strife.

I was recently nearby but unaware La Jolla was once his home base.
Seeing where he stored his thinking caps would've put a smile on my face.
Learning he participated in a Prohibition party made me giggle and grin.
As a result, he was kicked off the school paper and thus birthed his pseudonym.

Would you imagine a different college experience for a brewmaster's son?
Did you know he wrote a book using only 50 words on a bet for fun?
One of his works contains the first recorded instance of one beloved word: nerd.
Yertle mimicked Hitler, but the burp bothered the publishers more, I heard.

Like another favorite of mine, Homer Simpson, Dr. Seuss was from Springfield.
Perhaps it was this Seuss Simpson city kinship which made Homer cooler than Garfield.
Who wouldn't want to have something in common with the great Theodor S. Geisel?
I hope and dream that my rhymes will some day spread like his did; go viral.

So... Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!  I hope you can see all the smiles you left behind.
You've inspired many dreams for me.  Endless rhyme subjects I seem to find.
I promise to do my best to make sure your stories live on forever and ever.
If you could possibly talk to me in my dreams, I'd be open to that whenever.

© Rachel Hoyt 2011

If you'd like your links to appear within a rhyme,
participate in a Smiley Sociology Study sometime.



Technorati Tags:
Entertainment, Blogging, Humor, Study, Writing

Tongue Twisted Twhyming

                Photo by Boaz Yiftach via freedigitalphoto.net

Resolutions require restricting rubbish resolutely.
That's why you must commit to them so absolutely.
Research resoundingly rebukes rubber-band-ability
citing astoundingly low rates of adult adaptability.

I say... as long as I believe I can change, I can.
And... only I can ensure my next time is "better than".
If you're already worried you won't be able to sustain,
I hope to re-inspire you, from temptation to refrain.

I, Rhyming Rachel, realize rhyme readers relish rhythm
and want to perfect my craft for myself and for them.
Recalling ridiculous riddles and a rascally rabbit rambling,
tongue twister practice became my mind's next meandering.

Tongue twisters are totally tougher than I thought,
though I like writing these baby twisters quite a lot.
Tiny training tempts transformation to turbocharge.
That's the message I want to send out here by and large.

Baby steps and positive reinforcement are what we all need.
When easier on ourselves we're more likely to succeed.
Just a few days ago, I thought I couldn't write a tongue twister,
but randomizing them in rhyme turned out to be the perfect mixer.

Smarties slash silly self-sabotage sauntering 'stead of sprinting,
remembering that before writing cursive they had to learn printing.
Sipping, simmering, savoring and swallowing small successes is scintillating.
So twist your resolution today if you felt tongue twisted twymying was elating.

© January 4, 2011 - Rachel Hoyt

Do you want your links to appear in a rhyme?
Participate in the Smiley Sociology Study next time.

This rhyme is being shared with Poets Rally Week 36 and One Shot Poetry Week 27.  Head there to find poets whose words are like manna from heaven.  I've also added this poem to the Poetry Pantry where there are many more great poets to see.

Technorati Tags:

Entertainment, Blogs, Comedy, Funny, Opinion, Writing

This poem won me the Honest Scrap Award in the Thursday Poets' Rally!

Barrel of Monkeys Driving Test

A little while back on a day trip to the wineries,
I invented a new safe driver type test.
My designated driver had a barrel of monkeys,
just hanging on my car seat... 'cuz they're the best!
So I hung those cute little red monkeys, four in a row.
Said we'd whine if they swung wild or fell down below.
One monkey fell after several hours of watching,
but it was while navigating a bumpy dirt road.
I must say, they don't slow much from the factory notching,
and there was never a risk we'd implode.

Since then I've been thinking on this subject more.
The idea could be used for fun field sobriety exams.
I think policemen would absolutely adore...
childhood games played by drunk dudes and madames.
Jenga and Pin the Tail on the Donkey might be a little tough,
but Twister, Operation, or Charades would be even more rough.
Perhaps for April Fool's day some precinct will try...
by the power of Chief Wiggum, I hope they do.
Of course, for their prank to successfully fly,
they'll need permission to slightly harass me and you.

I would think Pictionary game night at a dive bar,
is likely to draw a decent sized crowd.
Of course those who don't like it would run far,
because Pictionary players can get pretty loud.
Or, you might be able to increase daytime payouts,
with card tower creation or domino pattern layouts.
I think you'd be surprised who would enjoy,
the chance to relive memories of being a child.
Most men like the chance to act like a boy;
the ability to feel like they're really getting wild.

I, for one, will always remember that special day,
when we invented the barrel of monkeys driving test.
No worry or care could get in our way.
We were living in the moment and forgetting the rest.
Ok... so, perhaps the wine influenced the monkeys hanging in a row.
Then again, we were sober when inventing Early Morning Merlot.
I'm just the type who finds great joy in little things;
and have even more fun making fun of myself.
Mischief... oh the joy it brings.
Hard to leave it on the shelf.

© Rachel Hoyt 2010 - 2011

Do you want your blog link to appear within a rhyme?
Participate in a Smiley Sociology Study sometime.  :o)

This rhyme is being shared on One Stop Poetry. 
Head over there if more poetry you wish to see.
It's also a part of the Poetry Potluck on Reflections and Musings,
head over there to find more poetry worth perusing.
Technorati Tags:

Entertainment, Blogs, Comedy, Funny, Opinion, Writing

Whoville Spirit

           Image by Simon Howden.  Used by permission of freedigitalphotos.net.

Recently a thought wandered onto my mind's windowsill.
What ever happened to the cheerful citizens of Whoville?
They're famous worldwide for outsmarting The Grinch.
They make feeling Christmas cheer seem like it's a cinch.
I wonder if the Whovillians have spread out among us?
Or are they singing carols as a choir on a traveling bus?
Wherever they are, we need their help un-grinching us.

Somewhere, sometime, someone loved that mean old Grinch.
They too wished the thought of Christmas would make people flinch.
No one should feel inspired to power their lights with an electric eel.
Presents, or lack thereof, should be able to produce the right feel...
as long as you're convinced you must have some unobtainable deal.

I imagine he first sought to make the most desired children's toy.
Thinking that through their popularity he'd control Christmas joy.
Perhaps he invented one of the first board games?
Or maybe the yo-yo or remote control airplanes?
Silly putty, his invention it probably was not.
Tonka Trucks I bet he liked a whole lot.

He probably never got his own story until now,
because he triumphed before that first crash of the Dow.
After that, like-minded grinchsters abounded.
Shortly thereafter, consumer America was founded.
Whovillians were possibly the only ones astounded.

Everyone else seemed happier to fight a stranger for the new My Little Pony,
than to make decorative trim for the Christmas tree with tricolor macaroni.
Suddenly gone was the spirit needed to make a Fenway Park gingerbread house.
No desire remained for paper snowflakes of Darth Vader or Mickey Mouse.

Year after year, this new attitude has flourished.
Despite constantly feeling consumer malnourished.
Oh how much fun this Christmas would be,
if all over America the Whoville spirit we could see.
So please shop online if you can't behave in public.
Buy prank gift boxes for the holidays if you're comedy cultic.
If you don't enjoy crowds, get a cabin somewhere rustic.

We must not let the Grinch loving people take over.
We must do more than wish on a four leaf clover.
No matter what holiday you celebrate this time of year.
I hope your themed decorations are shining loud and clear.
Try not to let present giving interfere with family time.
Remember the grinch is winning every time you whine.
Let your heart and the Whoville spirit intertwine.

© Rachel Hoyt 2010 - 2011

Technorati Tags:

Entertainment, Blogs, Comedy, Funny, Opinion, Writing, Christmas

This poem is being shared via One Shot Wednesdays and the Poetry Potluck.  Visit One Shot Poetry and Jingle Poetry to read posts by other authors or share writing of your own.

I've also enetered this in week 35 of the Thursday poets rally.

It's Make Fun of Me Day!

  A scan of the birthday card my parents gave me on Saturday...
          Inside it says, "Boogie down on your Birthday!

Have you noticed that the more birthdays you have in life,
the less they are about giving the celebrant some good times?
Friends tend to make fun of your age, causing mental strife,
and tell stories like they're listing your aging dumb person crimes.

The switch from fun day to make-fun-of-me-festival,
begins as you approach the dreaded age of forty.
Present giving amongst friends becomes more whimsical,
and humorous verbal self-flagellation turns sporty.

So, I have chosen today, my thirty-third birthday,
to announce to my friends on the world wide Internet,
that I happily contribute to annual make fun of me day,
because life's funner living wildly without regret.

Observation shows three popular making fun themes:
gracefulness, forgetfulness, and lack of self control.
Though for your stories to get truly gleeful screams,
you'll want something unique to share 'round the punch bowl.

No one who knows me well would disagree,
I have a tendency to slip, slide, trip and / or fumble.
There's plenty of stories one could share about me,
which involve funny injuries caused by a tumble.

There's no denying that with age, the memory fades.
(It takes me three times as long to learn names already.)
I'm saving self-control for the next few decades,
and letting the fun-o-meter sit strong and steady.

None of my life, thus far, has turned into movie scenes,
but neither have I been living inside a black hole.
Each silly story rhyme I write spills a bit of my beans...
my crazy ideas in print take you on a mind stroll.

Though I've never played the mood ring game for real,
I have made push pen people travel the world like a gnome.
I'm also too timid to trespass or steal,
but am truly weary of places where fancy pen users roam.

Though it shall remain secret how I celebrate tonight,
and precisely what type of party theme I will employ...
I can say I'm certain I'll be smiling with delight,
doing something myself and my friends all enjoy.

But be it camping in forbidden areas or sailing to nowhere,
gambling in the old west or flying to the moon.
Everyone should have a few stories that stand up your hair,
and at least one that makes you jealously swoon.

I don't think I'll party quite that rich this year,
nor is it required to have a blast.
I'm more the type who drinks whiskey and beer,
while playing childish games of the past.

I like skating, shooting, singing and shopping...
putt putt golf and poker playing too.
blasting, boating, bowling and bee-bopping...
or anything to which I am new.

The comments section is now open for suggestions,
and the paypal button is ready to accept your gifts.
I will even answer ten make fun of me questions...
just write them below and I'll answer in shifts.

© Rachel Hoyt 2010 - 2011

Technorati Tags: 

Entertainment, Blogs, Comedy, Funny, Opinion, Writing