So you want to see how I came to be?
Well than come along and follow me.
I was born March 2nd 1904
To Henrietta and Father Theodore.
Theodore Seuss Geisel is what I was called,
But that name isn’t on my books, none at all.
At Dartmouth College in 1925,
It was I who gave the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern its jive.
But by chance my name I would have to hide,
As a consequence of the alcohol I tried.
Prohibition was denying the Juice
So I took up the Pen Name, Dr. Seuss.
Lincoln College I attended next,
But my education was put in a hex.
I met someone who would change my life
In 1927, she was Helen Palmer, my wife
Many old drawings and pictures I did
Maybe your grandparents saw them when they were kids.
One was advertising for Flit
And the other was Hejji, a 1935 comic Strip.
Life was tough during the Great Depression,
But I drew for GE, NBC, and standard oil in my sessions.
I wrote And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street,
To the rhythm of my oceanic fleet.
When the war loomed, and all was dark
On an honest journey I did embark.
Political cartoons of Mussolini and Hitler,
That Charles Lindbergh was a real stickler.
I drew ads for the Treasury and War Production Board,
But there was still so much more that I could afford.
I joined the army in 1943,
And made many films, and propaganda movies.
The Legion of Merit I was Bestowed
Because of my honor and patriotism that showed.
I won ribbons and awards many,
But never the Caldecott Metal or Newberry
McEllgot’s Pool, Bartholomew and The Oobleck,   and If I Ran The Zoo
All of these books were rewarded number 2.
Here is another part of my story for ya,
After the war I moved to La Jolla California.
Here I write some brilliant books
On Beyond Zebra, How the Grinch Stole Christmas what a crook.
In 1954 there was something I seen,
It would change me, that Life magazine.
A rise in child illiteracy,
So I decided it was up to me
To control the written word,
And make these children no longer bored.
I took up my pen to tackle the task
The time was now, I had to move fast.
Nine months later came The Cat in the Hat
I’m sure all of you have heard about that.
There are many other things that I have wrote
Filled throughout with my rhyming quote.
There’s Are You my Mother? And Green Eggs and Ham
That’s the book where you meet Sam I am.
Have you read The Lorax or Go Dog Go
Maybe even OH, The Places You’ll Go
There are many more for you to find,
Some I’m sure are still on your mind.
Sad to say but I passed away
The day was September 24th 1991,
That’s when I left, but my legacy was not done.
Dr. Seuss’ National Memorial Sculpture Garden opened in 2002
All should visit every one of you.
I set my dream to fulfill a need
A dream that that comes true every time you read.

In Memory of Dr. Seuss
By Adam Walton