Ishirō Honda to the Edge of Panic by Andre F. Peltier

It occurred to me

that we need a poem

about Godzilla.

It occurred to me that all

poems would be improved

by the inclusion of

Godzilla.

“Shall I compare thee

to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely

and more Godzilla.”

See?

“I celebrate myself

and sing myself

and what I assume

you shall assume

for every atom belonging

to me as good belongs to

Godzilla.”

“Godzilla is the cruelest month.”

On and on it goes.

Choose a poem from your

Intro to Poetry anthology.

Dial up a poem on

poetry.org.

Go to open mic poetry nights

or listen to slams in coffee houses.

Find a poem

that won’t be improved by adding

Godzilla…

it can’t be done.

“We real cool. We

skip school. We

a thrilla. We

Godzilla.”

Over and over,

you can watch the movies,

read the comic books,

collect the vintage toys.

Over and over,

he makes the skies a little clearer

and the stars a little brighter.

Over and over,

nostalgia

and fear of the bomb

live in our souls.

“Once again, do I behold

Godzilla rolling

from his South Pacific island.

Once again, your heart beats faster

to see his name in verse.”

“Whan that Godzilla

with his shouers soote.”

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Andre F. Peltier is a Lecturer III at Eastern Michigan University in Yp[silanti, MI where he lives with his family. His poetry has been published in Big Whoopie Deal, Tofu Ink, and Fahmidan and is forthcoming from various journals. In his free time, he obsesses about comics and soccer.

@aandrefpeltier