Gretchen Rockwell
Quarto for Godzilla
some keep their patron saints cloistered in a new city
on altars seated centered I find myself
at the heart of chaos alone and in the dark
a force beyond knowing beyond for the first time
definition and that’s why I’m afraid I think
they’re drawn to that I want to be fierce
a being that feels no pain despite the gaping wound the absence
uncontrollable unimaginable I write myself notes
bold and declarative and remind myself what’s important
what it must be like to know what I must not forget that
one’s own power will overcome any obstacle
I keep my patron saint on my refrigerator
where I can see him open every morning
roaring battle-cry defender a reminder for my day
an icon no really gold leafed shining bright powerful
and gleaming in the sun it only takes a few words
to remind me victory is possible to make or break a world
and it is it is possible to live become ruin or destroyer
in this world and win I have to remember kindness its value
believe this if nothing else compassion is its own success
I have to believe I can find victory in softness
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Gretchen Rockwell is a queer poet and supplemental instructor at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island, and has had work appear in Glass’s Poets Resist, Kissing Dynamite, Noble/Gas Qtrly, FreezeRay Poetry, the Minnesota Review, and elsewhere. Rockwell enjoys writing poetry about gender and sexuality, history, space, and unusual connections.