sendak
A Yummy Death
by Eileen Wesson

I refuse to lie to children
To cater to the bullshit of innocence
I don’t like the city
I’m afraid
I’m here looking for a yummy death
All my friends are dying
Fearful phone calls
Publishing books was fun
Now its stupid
I’ve turned old
I was young minutes ago
The passion I felt
truest part of my life
Falling in love
I’m going back in time
To live in silence
Not get involved in the world
Parents don’t like kids
They’re maladjusted
I’m concentrating on people I love
Understanding teachers
Everything was hard
Everything was a problem
Everything was scolding
Everything was wrong
Total wreckage
That’s my mother from shtetls
I’m crazy it makes my work good
An artist should not have children
Have a daughter they’re kinder
The vicious pain
Can only be astonished
Don’t dare tell the truth
It’s a famous theme of mine
Get rid of the parents
Get them out of the book
I was abandoned he died
I’m so old
not supposed to be caring about love affairs
It doesn’t stop
Working napping reading
I’m in the idiot role
A kiddie-book person
I can’t complain
I’m a lucky buck

SOURCE: Maurice Sendak interview, Believer (Nov./Dec. 2012).

IMAGE: Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) with an illustration from his book Where the Wild Things Are (1963).

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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I am in the process of publishing a series of adventure stories for little kids. I look to Maurice Sendak for inspiration of a child’s journey that shapes his/her future. He said he answered the children’s letters sent to him first, rather than letters from adults. He wanted more than anything for children to feel safe enough to tell “their” truth. His life and imagination are inspiring to me. When I read the article in Believer, I could feel the loss and horrific pain he went through. I am amazed at how he was able to fall in love with nature and not give in to commercial exploitation. His illustrations are full of emotions that most storytellers gloss over. I wish I could have made him dinner and listened to his stories.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Eileen Wesson is a writer/actress whose poetry will appear in the fall edition of FRE&D.