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.”
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