If you’ve frequented those cafes where lately the cappuccinos
are topped by swirls resembling dragons from fantasy novels,
you might have heard it said that Godzilla lives in the center
of the earth. And if you happened to order a Reuben sandwich
with a side of pickle, you might have been told that certain
brands of sour chili pickle get their distinct flavor from salt
harvested from those places Godzilla’s feet have touched.
I used to think this was just the kind of story that’s spit
out of gumball machines with no real gumballs— just hollow
rubber spheres that hide little strips of paper on which some
poor soul chained to a basement wall in what used to be a fortune
cookie company is still writing fortunes (or are they cries for help?)
that are not fortunes, but banal sayings like “Life is what you make it”
or “A good heart is the center of the family—” which by the way
is also hogwash, since we all know that mitochondria are
the engines of the cell. but never has any science existed
that could predict whether you’d wind up in a dysfunctional
family or in one that wore identical smiles and color
coordinated clothing for special photo shoots each new
season of the year. But recently I put a gumball into my mouth
and bit down on a claw of bristly dark green jade. It tasted
simultaneously of roasted coconuts and the sea.
Purveyors of fine poetry since 2003.
