National Poetry Month, v. 7.0, Day 14

When choosing literature, I'm a fiction nut.  A lot of us are.  For me, it's simple: It's a form of escapism, an exercise at looking at the world from a different and completely safe point of view, because, of course, none of it is real.  I can handle things like politics and the various social justice issues we have in our lives better by viewing through the lens of fiction.  Why is this important today???

I'm glad you asked!  Today's poem came to me on my commute, which was quite lovely, even for 36-degrees on a bicycle.  The title is a concept very often seen in the latest trend in the summer blockbuster superhero films: Origin Story.  Simply put, "how did the superhero get his/her start?"  Superman, for example, came to us from a dying planet.  Batman was born from revenge.  The Flash got hit by lighting and chemicals, the Incredible Hulk was hit with radiation...as were the Fantastic 4, Spiderman, and a slew of other characters.  Radiation was big in the 50s and 60s, after all, when most of these characters were created (I think...I didn't research the creation dates, I'm only SO big of a nerd, after all.)  The whole point of the genre, in my opinion, is to encounter something larger than life, and overcome it.  Sometimes, we need to become out own superhero.

Thanks for reading,

Me

origin story

the sun rises up behind me,
casting longer shadows on the pavement
for me to chase,
a new day,
a new image,
a superhero form done by Picasso or Van Gogh,
everything there, but perception slightly off,
proportions differ,
but i see something there 
that is new -
untiring, sure,
cadence strong and confident,
in a way i have never known before.
who i've been is still there -
it is my cover,
my secret identity,
the private face of a public superhuman.
all i need is the uniform.