Sharing a little short story/poem that I wrote about a misunderstood Reindeer, Wheezy. It’s something I want to do more here, so I hope you enjoy it.
You’ve heard the story of Dasher and Prancer,
Comet and Blitzen.
Hell, you probably recall the most famous reindeer of all,
Rudolph, how original-
This story is provisional.
This is a Christmas tale, not often told,
For his name is not easily sold.
Introducing Wheezy, the reindeer who always has a cold.
Poor Wheezy did not breeze through the night,
His cough and congestion gave everyone a fright.
The double doses of Sudafed,
Always going to his head.
When he lined up for take-off,
Santa just told him, "go to bed".
Wheezy did not have a Vixen to his Dancer,
Or a Donner to his Blitzen.
Poor Wheezy and his mucus coughs,
An odd reindeer,
He had no one there to listen.
Wheezy was always just a little bit different,
His childhood asthma was just a tad belligerent.
While the rest of the reindeer laughed and played,
Wheezy was alone,
Often feeling betrayed.
Wheezy was hopeful he’d become a Rudolph, too.
After all, if he coughed enough,
his nose would turn blue.
On Christmas Eve,
Wheezy would always line up with the alternates,
"a just in case",
But the mean head elf, Steve,
Always told him, “leave the base”.
The fate of Wheezy changed one day,
When one foggy winter night,
The North Pole had internet-
what a sight!
@Wheezywiththesneezys was born,
140 characters or less, Wheezy wrote how he was scorned.
Soon the hashtag “Justiceforwheezy” was all anyone could say.
Finally, Wheezy had his day.
The toys on misfit island found Wheezys neglect outrageous,
Even the Grinch chimed in, saying "He's not contagious!"
Enough is enough, tweeted the crowd,
this type of discrimination is not allowed!
The elf PR team didn’t know what to do,
They never faced controversy,
Will Santa be canceled too?
Wheezy was grateful for all his support,
But hated seeing Santa down on his luck, that old sport.
To try and make amends Wheezy started a live stream,
Finally a moment, an emotional pour.
Mrs. Claus opened the door,
asking Wheezy, please end this war.
Santa emerged,
Wheezy suddenly nervous he would be scourged.
“HO HO HO, I was expecting you sooner”, Santa cooed.
“It’s quite a mess you made, the enterprise even got sued.”
Wheezy hung his head in embarrassment,
As Santa pursued.
“Wheezy, I know all you want to do is help us deliver the toys,
After all, that's all people think a reindeer enjoys.”
Santa looked sternly at the camera and continued,
“Since you were born, we saw your difference,
and Mrs. Claus and I worked hard to show you,
all you are is magnificence!
We’ve loved you so much from the start,
Our goal was to always find what sang true to your heart.
But like the Grinch, or the toys on misfit island,
Often, if you feel misaligned,
you have to find where you shine.
You see, Wheezy
You’re so focused on what you can’t do,
I implore you to look at this from a different view.
You’re a fantastic cook,
And you could even write a book-
But you have to stop saying all that internet gook.”
Santa turned to the camera and said,
“To everyone on the live stream;
I know I’ve got you hooked.
If you want positive vibes to spread,
Then stop focusing on the negative.
Take it from this old soul,
Have you ever noticed I don’t actually give out coal?
I simply lightly threaten children to focus on being good,
And for six weeks of the year, they think of their goal,
as they should.”
Santa continued,
He knew this would be viewed.
“Grinch I’m disappointed in you;
I thought your heart grew by two?
Instead of egging my deer Wheezy on,
You should have told him, negative thoughts, be gone!
Your role is to teach presence,
not the importance of presents!”
Santa tapped the screen-
“Misfit island toys, I see you’re here as well.
I thought we made your message as clear as a church bell.
You cannot rush when finding your calling,
Why are all your morals falling?
All of you listening should know by now,
That failure is something I do not allow!
Look at me:
I was fat with white hair by the age of three.
That wasn’t easy and the attention I received,
made my brother Fred, red.
But I was meant to be something more,
And all of you have so much in store.”
Wheezy started sniffling and for once it wasn’t his post-nasal drip,
Santa turned to him with a quivering lip.
“Wheezy I’m sorry you have felt unwanted or unloved,
We never meant to do any harm,
We love you and all your wheezin’ charm.”
The live stream ended,
Keyboard warriors were no longer offended,
The Grinch started a coaching class,
“How to manifest anything; you ass.”
It took a few months,
But Wheezy changed his tune.
By the following Christmas,
he no longer blew snot like a balloon.
By focusing on himself,
Wheezy improved.
He even grooved with the elves.
Wheezy became the chef de cuisine,
Finally, he was a sight to be seen.
The lesson here is simple,
albeit a little long,
If you feel like you don't belong,
simply remember, we all have a song.
It takes endurance,
It takes strength,
With a sprinkle of faith.
The Moral of the stories,
from The Misfits,
to the Grinch
Wheezy, too-
is that inch-by-inch,
you'll be closer to you.
Follow your joy,
Your passion,
Your heart.
And soon you'll
find that life
is art.
We all have a little Wheezy, loves.
Doesn’t make us any less magnificent.
Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoyed the inner workings of my brain.
XX,
L