When I was a child

there were a two highlights

of my tv viewing year.

One was Godzilla week

on channel 11 WPIX

Each year I would wait

and be rewarded with

glorious scenes and sounds

of kaiju

on my little tv screen

destroying Tokyo

battling each other

breathing fire

soaring in the sky

oh it was a wonder

The other was

the yearly showing

of The Wizard of Oz

Even though the flying monkeys

terrified me for the first few years

the spectacle of color and sound

made me white knuckle it

through the fear

For days after

I would think

what would it be like

to be transported

to another land

where ever big moment

had a song and dance routine

and everything was saturated

in brillant color

Gene G. McLaughlin 2026