Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Man of Steel


He pulled at the drawstring on his stretch pants,
Slid his feet into comfortable slippers,
Adjusted his shirt over his expanding waistline,
And attached his cape to his shoulders with Velcro.

Seems like only a minute ago he was
Jumping out of telephone booths,
Wearing tights that stretched over bulging muscles,
Leaping into the air to fight crime and save the world.

Now he worked at Comics & More on Hawthorne Avenue,
Selling vintage comic books and other memorabilia.
The owner thought the costume would attract business.
He thought he looked like an idiot.

Lois had died eight years ago.
Clark Jr. only visited at Christmas.
He wanted to buy a condo in Florida,
But Lois’ life insurance didn’t quite cover it.

He remembered when it all began to fall apart.
People stopped believing in super heroes,
And turned to politicians to save them.
He often wondered how that was working for them.

But each day at the store,
As he haggled with 10-yr old hustlers,
He often dreamed of a big comeback,
Or an overdose of kryptonite to end it all.

After work he drove to his RV
Parked in the Daily Planet parking lot.
After dinner he settled on the couch to watch TV.
His eyes slowly closed as he drifted off to sleep.

His last thoughts were of leaping tall buildings,
In a single bound, of course
Moving faster than a locomotive
And knowing superheroes had their place…

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

the plummet

Every night after dinner he took a flight around the neighborhood.

At first his neighbors thought it strange to see him flying overhead.

Soon they became accustomed to it and even looked forward

to seeing him soar above their roofs each evening.


He had known how to fly since he was six years old.

No one had ever taught him he just knew he could so he did.

He went out on his back porch, one summer evening, bent his knees,

Cocked his elbows and pushed off into the sky


His parents took him to doctors and psychics of all sorts

To find out what had made their kid so strange

The experts were puzzled and perplexed

And after testing, probing and prodding they could offer no explanations.


So he continued to take to the air each day,

learning about life from a different vantage point.

Often having strange ideas and plans

that he never shared with his parents.


Finally he turned 21 and decided to take a celebratory flight

The fresh air rushed past his ears, the sun shone in his eyes,

When suddenly he had an odd thought…why should he be able to fly?

And then… he no longer could.