Dr. Seuss was one of my absolute favorites growing up. I used to know whole books by heart. The really obscure ones too. Sure, I loved the great popular ones like "Green Eggs and Ham", "Hortons Hears a Who" or "The Cat in the Hat" but one of the best ones to me was "The Butter Battle Book".
One of the main reasons I loved this book was because I thought it was totally ridiculous that my dad ate his toast with the butter side up. Seriously. It's obviously a "grown up" thing because I can't imagine eating bread butter side down at my ripe old age, but as a child it was my thing. Otherwise how do you taste the buttery goodness properly? Anyway, I digress...
The story is about two groups who live separated by a wall. One group eats their bread butter side up and the other butter side down. If I remember correctly the conclusion is open ended because each group is poised to attack the other with metaphorical nuclear weapons due to their not so complicated hatred for one another. All this because of the orientation of buttered bread. Apparently, Dr. Seuss wrote this during the Cold War. Topical. I was obviously just as interested in complex debatable topics even in my youth...
So, naturally, when we were assigned to write a poem in the style of a Dr. Seuss story I went for a metaphor for racial hatred with an easy resolution. I'm no Dr. Seuss. Children's stories with open ended discussion-inducing conclusions were probably something I should try when I was a bit older.
The flies hated the bees
They were sworn enemies
Being big and strong
Only made the bees wrong.
The bees weren't all bad
They were just a big sad
That the flies were mean
And weren't very keen
On letting the bees into their daily routine
So the bees stayed unseen.
The flies wanted their way
They didn't want the bees to stay
So that opened the door
For their racial war.
They didn't like the colours yellow and black
And that was the reason they were going to attack.
The wise old spider watched from afar
He felt a war brewing through his radar
He set off to save the innocent bees
Who were obviously going to be crushed like fleas.
When the troops formed on the field of battle
All of them heard a peculiar rattle
And down from the skies
Came the spider so wise
To dictate
His lecture so great.
"Beloved flies,"
Said the spider so wise
"What did a bee ever do
To receive such hatred from you?"
The flies thought and thought
But find a reason, they could not.
"Thus the lesson here is without a doubt
To judge from the inside not from the out".
The flies who learned the error of their way
Apologized to the bees on that day
And our dear spider, old and wise,
Got all of the honey from the grateful bees' hives.
Poignant and oh so simple. If only all wars could be prevented by an elderly arachnid who charms us with some clichés, googley eyes and a show-stopping smile.
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