The Poetry Stash: 22Feb2024

note, passed to superman by Lucille Clifton

Today’s poem is “note, passed to superman” by Lucille Clifton from the collection, Blessing The Boats, New and Selected Poems 1988-2000. The book is available for purchase here.

note, passed to superman by Lucille Clifton

sweet jesus, superman,
if I had seen you
dressed in your blue suit
I would have known you.
maybe that choirboy clark
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.

Prompts:

1.	Begin with “if I had seen you…”
2.	Begin with “maybe…”
3.	Draft a conversation with a comic book character, a superhero/heroine.
4.	Draft a poem in which the speaker assumes the voice of a known superhero/heroine.
5.	What are your superpowers? Draft a poem about them.

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