Godzilla Considers 1998's 'Zilla
Abby Bland
Abby Bland (she/they) is an award-winning Kansas City-based writer and performer whose work has appeared in a variety of publications. Her comedy show “Godzilla’s Not a Dinosaur” won best of venue at the KC Fringe in 2023 and has been touring the country since. They’re on Instagram @applestoabby and you can read more of their work at abbyblandpoetry.com.
Of course, the Americans wanted thin,
realistic, lithe and agile easily handled
by their excitable military, wrapped in
the Brooklyn Bridge, like a baby swaddled.
They wanted a different version, who
could more easily squeeze her slender hips
through their precious buildings, less likely to
destroy their city, who bows down quickly
to missiles and tanks like a bashful dog.
They found me too devastating to fit
in their mythology. My keloid scars,
of course, remind them of their own darkness.
So they wanted something they could control.
Something they didn’t have to reckon with.