In Space No One Can Hear You Kaboom: A Poem

I wrote this Robert Frost/Marvin The Martian poem for a pop culture poetry anthology that ultimately didn’t get published or funded or something. Maybe reading Robert Frost’s “Desert Places” and its “empty spaces between stars” led me to thinking about one of my favorite cartoon characters.

I had read Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” many times, so the only research I had to do was rewatch all the classic Marvin appearances–maybe five cartoon shorts total. I did and didn’t give Marvin his kaboom.

This was fun to write, but parody is not easy to submit so it sat around for a while. Hope you enjoy!

Stopping by Worlds on Saucer-X2

Whose worlds these are I think I know.
His ship is near the Dog Star though;
He will not see me stopping here,
Blowing up the blue-ish rock below.

My green K-9 must think it queer
To stop without a Martian near
Among these worlds and sulfur lakes
And my darkest feelings of the year.

He gives his back and rump a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s a beep.
The launching gives my ship a quake.

Isn’t that lovely, dark, and deep?
A promise I could finally keep.
The planet explodes without a peep,
Not a kaboom, not even a peep.