The Cancelling of Dr. Seuss
by Anthony Baker
I’ve got a cool hat,
I’ve got quite a few.
A red one, a gray one.
Even one that is blue.
I love my cool hat,
I wear it day and night.
Almost every time you see me
It’s never out of sight.
I’m a cool cat.
I’ve got a cool hat.
It’s not a ball bat.
It’s not a rat-tat-tat.
I’ve just got a hat
A pretty cool hat.
Oh, and gloves!
Forgot to mention that!
I’m a cool black cat.
Wait, what did I just say?
“I’m a cool black cat”?
Isn’t that a little ray ray?
I must think this through
Think through this I can.
I will rest my black face
On my white-gloved cat hand.
I have a cool hat.
I have white gloves.
I’m black and make rhymes
That everyone loves.
I’m black and I rhyme.
Black with a white face.
OOOOOOOHHHH, I get it!
It’s all about RACE!
I have a cool hat,
White gloves, and I rhyme,
But because of my color,
My books are a crime.
So, forget what I do,
Forget what I write.
Forget all the the children
My stories put to bed at night.
I happen to be a cat
Who’s black with a face
That happens to be white,
So there’s no safe space.
My hat, my face, my paws
Will be cancelled just because
The ones clearing the shelves
Are racists, themselves.
The Recovering Legalist 