Eulogy for a ZZebra

Beyond the letter Z
is not empty space--
I could imagine it up
and evolve in that place.

On Beyond Zebra
is a book I adore.
Dr. Seuss showed me
when the rule book he tore.

There was room for
critters not yet devised:
Just create new letters
and capture the prize.

He gave me validation back then:
I wasn't confined to the tried and true.
The worlds in my mind
could be real worlds too.

Letter combinations
could be peculiar and odd
Bzfribet and Kclima
were strange lands that I trod.

Bzfribet was a forest
with sassafras trees,
full of green flowers
and three-toed leaves.

Kclima was a land under the sea
with mermen and mermaids and a castle fair
where I was was a beautiful, clear-eyed princess
with a head full of shimmering scarlet hair.

He taught me I could be whatever I wanted,
that I could write what I saw in my mind.
He taught me to be creative,
and he taught me moreover to be always kind.

From Nitches to Thadners, from Umbus to Wumbus
I envisioned a world beyond where I grew,
whales on mountains and minute quandries confused--
I read and I learned, I imagined, I knew!

Long lost the letter in which he replied
to all my questions - back when I was nine.
But I've never forgotten one thing that he wrote:
To keep my eyes open and the world would be mine.

Perspectives are a tricky thing--
and we see the world refracted and split.
The view seen through one's personal lenses
is not one size fits all, no, not one bit.