Superman Waits (for the Red Carpet)

Leaping expectations in a single bound,

that is my power.

Villains tell me

what I cannot do

and I do it.

But the world isn’t ready for me.

I would destroy

minds

if I unleashed my power

on cancers, disease, and hunger.

If only I had the power

to convince them

to persevere

and not give up so easily,

the world could change

itself.

Even now,

hidden powers lay dormant

all the abilities

in comics and movies

magics and mutations,

they all exist

in dormant genes

waiting to be used for good.

But who would believe it’s true?

It’s just as well,

few of us could resist the urge

to benefit ourselves.

If I had superspeed,

I would have used it

for my own gain,

for things I think I need.

The power I have

lies asleep

until I am challenged.

It’s only happened once.

Glass ceiling shattered and raining

down on my enemy

who looked on in shock.

“No one can stop me!” he said,

and I disarmed his atomic attack

with a pencil,

sending him away

to the prison in his mind

where he sits to this day.

I didn’t dare tell the world of my feat

for fear

that they would all end up the same.

No televised heroics for me,

and no witnesses,

and if you’re reading this

don’t believe it’s true

or else you’ll be subdued

as reality perceptions come crashing through

brainwave walls.

So someday,

when the world is ready,

I can take flight,

deflect the meteor showers,

plug the volcanoes,

drain the floods,

but until then,

I can only look on,

as helpless as the victims.