How the Grinch Stole Writing

[Lisa]

I thought you guys would get a kick out of this:  

 

How the Grinch Stole Writing

by Marcy McKay | 11 Comments

 

 

Every Writer in Wordville liked stories a lot.
But the Grinch who lived North of Wordville did not!

The Grinch hated writing—the whole creative way.
Now, please don’t ask why. No one knows what to say.

 

It could be, perhaps, he didn’t own paper or pen.
It could be he disliked trying again, and again.

But, I think the most likely reason was this, dear,
His heart was hijacked by nasty ol’ fear.

Fear is the #1 enemy of every writer, near and far.
But the Grinch held onto terror, like jam in a jar.

Staring down from his cave, he watched the townsmen below,
And vowed to destroy the stories they loved so.

He thought, in this room, she reads. In the other, he writes.
Then, they gather together to share laughter and delight.

“I hate all their happiness! I despise all their joy!”
“I’ll crush the imagination of every girl and boy!”

He drummed his grinchy fingers and growled, oh so mad.
He vowed not to stop ‘til they were nothing but sad

 

The Grinch laughed, then sneered. “I know just what to do!”
The he slinked through his cave to plot his evil, awful coup.

He crept down each chimney, of each house, one by one.
He stole everything they used for their writerly fun.

Journals, computers, papers, pens and books.
He robbed from each cranny, he thieved from each nook.

The writers had no more of their literary stuff.
Now, they couldn’t create their ridiculous fluff.

 

Up the side of Mount Crumpet, ten thousand feet in the air,
He rode to the tippy-top, then dumped the load without a care.

“I’ve ruined those writers!” he was grinchily humming.
“They are so stupid! They never saw it coming.”

“They’re waking up now to their lives ruined for good.”
“They’ll cry boo-hoo tears, just like they should.”

“That’s a noise,” smiled the Grinch, “that will be oh, so grand.”
He laughed deep from his belly, then put his ear to his hand.

“Listen.” He heard a sound rising over the dawn and the snow.
It started out soft, then it started to grow.

Oh no! What’s this? That sound wasn’t sad.

It sounded quite happy. It sounded quite glad.

 

Every writer down in Wordville, the small and the tall,
Still gathered for stories—they were having a ball!

 

He hadn’t stopped writing. He hadn’t stopped their words.
Stories flew from their mouths like air with the birds.

 

“How could this be?” he said, aghast and aloud,
As the townsmen grew into a huge, happy crowd.

 

Maybe writing is not about computers, or even things.
Maybe writing is about giving your imagination its wings

.

What happened next to the Grinch? Well, in Wordville they say,
His icy, cold terror? It melted completely away.

The true meaning of writing shined right on through.
He gathered the stolen treasures. He knew what to do.

 

The Grinch whizzed with his load through the bright morning sun.
He experienced something brand new. The Grinch had some fun.

He rode straight into Wordville. He brought everything back.
The Grinch returned all the items. He had such a knack.

Writing goes with us, wherever we may go.
Stories live in our hearts. WE make them so.

Writing will always and forever will be.
I share words with you. You give yours to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2014 by Lisa

[Caz Pedroso]

Love it !!!

[Cia]

That's really creative!! Very cool.

[Lisa]

'The Write Practice' (www.thewritepractice.com) sends me daily emails about writing, authors, etc. I saw this one today and couldn't resist posting it. The site included really cute pics of The Grinch, but for some reason GA wouldn't let me paste them with the rest of the poem, but if you go on their website, you'll see them.

 

And I just ran out of likes, so I can't 'like' all your posts; I'll have to do it tomorrow. =)

Edited December 25, 2014 by Lisa

[joann414]

I love this.  Thanx for sharing.

[Lisa]

Well, I LOVE all Dr. Seuss books and the way he rhymes, and I thought that this particular poem was very creative in following with Dr. Seuss' original theme.

 

And of course the end was perfect, because it doesn't matter if you don't have pens, papers, computers, etc. to write things down with - stories come from the heart and the mind and as long as there are people, there will be stories to be told.  =)

[Bill W]

The Spirit of Dr. Suess, live long and prosper.  

 

Totally amusing take on the subject. 

[auscub87]

Nice!

[Mann Ramblings]

That's a great re-make for the season. Thanks for sharing it!

[Carlos Hazday]

Oral traditions are the basis for all storytelling. Charcoal on cave walls or dots on a computer screen are just another way of sharing those tales.

[PrivateTim]

For those interested, here is the Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Library at the University of California San Diego, near Geisel's home in La Jolla.

 

[TetRefine]

For those interested, here is the Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Library at the University of California San Diego, near Geisel's home in La Jolla.

 

 

If I had had a library like that to study in during college, I probably would have been a 4.0 student.

[Lisa]

For those interested, here is the Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Library at the University of California San Diego, near Geisel's home in La Jolla.

 

Wow, Birthday Boy, Tim - that's a gorgeous library!

 

I didn't even know Dr. Seuss had lived in Cali...