Super Hero
Just so you know, I've secretly been watching your stories.
I wait till your asleep,fully asleep,
I check.
It is then that my research begins.
Late at night with a pair of head phones and a flickering TV
...... I've come to some conclusions.
Developing super powers may.... be…. difficult.
I've been trying.
I'm real good at it,
trying that is.
I thought that I’d surprise you.
You'd come home from work, and I....... would be invisible
only to reappear again,
but, apparently, it's much harder than I thought.
So recently I started staring.
Just staring, for hours at one spot until something moves.
Even if you've never seen it before,
I swear it moved.
Really,I’m getting better.
Or should I say,
Stronger?
When your not home, I create experiments in our bathroom sink
with all the old perfumes that my grandmother sent me.
Hundreds of Avon this and Avon that.
I've been saving up for 24 yrs now.
Waiting for just the right moment to unleash a toxic waste of supernatural abilities, billowing, in clouds of unnatural colored gasses.
Swirling wildly from the depths of a flaking porcelain basin,
which now, flakes just a wee bit more.
I've intoxicated myself until I have lost the will to hold back
from an ever growing lust to paint everything I own, including the toilet brush,
what I think to be a sea green.
Coming down from the fumes,
I've decided this idea may not be to my benefit.
All this superhero stuff got me thinking,
I'm going to be a better person, a heroin of sorts.
I'm sure of it!
With lightning blot eyes and the ability to hover,
I'll save kittens and rebuild New Orleans
Maybe, it's just doubt holding me back from achieving my natural
supernatural abilities?
I've decided, I'm going to take all my bad influences out for some drinks.
Later I'll wrap them up in an old pillowcase and beat them softly and thoroughly with a hammer.
I assure you, they will never hold me back again.
When my powers get strong enough,
I will to be braver and ride the train,
I'll to throw caution to the wind,
I'll to forget my past and all her all the sycophants.
I'll write silliness across the sky
until finally, I can sing.
Comments
The concept of superpowers and wanting (or needing) to be a super hero works really well. I like how the first part deals with figuring someone out – it can be difficult, and sometimes it’s like we need super powers to do it, and sometimes we also need super powers to fully express ourselves. I also get the impression of a person waiting patiently (or maybe not so patiently!) for someone to see them as uniquely special... sometimes it can feel as though we need to have super powers just to be noticed and appreciated, and it can also feel like we need super powers to get through some rough times.
The idea of it taking time and patience and practice to develop strength – like inner strength sort of being a superhuman quality - comes across very well.
Your sense of humor is really great, and I love how you use it to make some points - so it’s also very poignant.
Another thing I like is how you talk about the concept bad influences, how they can hold us back from achieving our own fullness (so to speak).
The end is fantastic (no kidding), I love it where you begin the last part with: “I've decided, I'm going to take all my bad influences out for some drinks..." and then finish with "... I'll write silliness across the sky / until finally, I can sing.” That whole last section is excellent, I like it a lot. Everything is so vivid.
The poem makes me think about the psychology concept of “self-actualization,” like understanding ourselves, trying to reach our potential, and the ability to express ourselves. It’s really beautiful.