Poetry: Yub Nub, Motherfuckers by Andre F. Peltier

Yub Nub, Motherfuckers

The 1983 Sears Wish Book

arrived before Thanksgiving,

and we poured over

those pages

afternoons after school.

Attempting to assist my parents,

I circled the items

I needed most:

Every item in

the entire toy section.

Castle Grayskull, The USS Flagg,

BA’s sweet windowless black van

with the red stripe

and swivel seats for

Face and Murdock.

Always at the ready

with their rifles

and their improvisation,

Hannibal loved it when

a plan came

together.

 

I would have settled for

the Smurf Magic Talk Playset,

or Strawberry Shortcake’s

Berry Bake Shoppe,

but the Star Wars section

was the section of true glory.

TIE-Fighters, X-Wings, Snow-Speeders,

the Jawa’s Sandcrawler…

I wanted them all,

yet The Ewok Village Action Playset

was the real prize.

If only I’d been more specific

in my circling.

If only I’d been clear

with my parents.

If only I’d said,

“This is what I want.

Fuck all that other shit.

The Ewok Village

is my Holy Fucking Grail.

I want to live in the trees like

Wicket, Teebo,

and Logray.

I want to drop boulders on

Imperial AT-ST walkers.

I want to destroy the backdoor entrance

to the shield generator bunker.

I want to soar on a Sky-Glider

like Princess Kneesaa

to defeat the dreaded Gorax.

I want The Star Wars Ewok Village,

God damnit!”  

Then, maybe,

just maybe,

those ancient youthful days

would have been as golden

as the Ewok’s android God.

Then, maybe,

just maybe,

I could have raised my head

to the heavens

and shouted,

“Yub Nub, motherfuckers!

Yub Nub!”

Andre F. Peltier (he/him) is a Pushcart Nominee and a Lecturer III at Eastern Michigan University where he teaches literature and writing. He lives in Ypsilanti, MI, with his wife and children. His poetry has recently appeared in various publications like CP Quarterly, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Provenance Journal, Lavender and Lime Review, About Place, Novus Review, Fiery Scribe, and Fahmidan Journal, and most recently in Magpie Literary Journal, Cajun Mutt Press, and Idle Ink. In his free time, he obsesses over soccer and comic books. His chapbook Poplandia is forthcoming from Alien Buddha Press.