Today is National Superhero Day. Over the years I’ve written a series of poems about “heroes.” In my last collection, “The Black Blood of Poetry,” which I am shopping around, is this poem:
In Search of a Black Hero
Coming of age in a world without heroes,
Though try as we might to create them:
Batman, Tarzan, Superman –
From comic books, literature, and an insane philosopher.
Tabloids creating latter-day heroes,
From people deputized to serve and protect
To people who have taken the law into their own hands.
Fed a constant staple of bloody news,
Vigilantism as the main course.
Coming of age in a world without heroes,
Though try as we might to create them:
Athletes, entertainers, and even politicians –
From people blessed with power, speed, and height
To dreamers dreaming seemingly impossible dreams.
Madison Avenue magicians conjuring up images
Of heroes to worship.
Sports pages praising latter-day heroes,
From sluggers to hoopsters
To the all-American Golden White Boy.
Coming of age in a world without heroes,
Though try as we might to create them.
Coming of age in a world without heroes,
Though try as we might to create them.
Easy Waters 