'final note to clark (kent)' and 'note passed to superman'

final note to clark

they had it wrong,
the old comics.
you are only clark kent
after all. oh,
mild mannered mister,
why did i think you could fix it?
how you must have wondered
to see me taking chances,
dancing on the edge of words,
pointing out the bad guys,
dreaming your x-ray vision
could see the beauty in me.
what did i expect? what
did i hope for? we are who we are,
two faithful readers,
not wonder woman and not superman.

 

note passed to superman

sweet jesus superman,

if i had seen you

dressed in your blue suit

i would have known you.

maybe that choir boyclark

can stand around

listening to stories

but not you, not with

metropolis to save

and every crook in town

filthy with kryptonite.

lord, man of steel

i understand the cape,

the leggings, the whole

ball of wax.

you can trust me,

there is no planet stranger

than the one i'm from.

Lucille Clifton, POEMS (buffalo.edu) accessed on June 13, 2024