Waiting for Spider-Man.
Once upon a non-existent time
everybody always got along just fine
with each other and the world at large
till one bad-guy or another barged in
and the story could get interesting
these evil third parties would plot
to wreak havoc and not let the hero
and heroine do what heroines and heroes ought
that is – live happily ever after.
They usually did a good line in evil laughter
All of which made plenty of work for superheroes
or just plain good-guys who never failed
and no matter how bad things became
anxious kiddies could be pretty confident
about the same result at the end of it all
bad-guys and monsters to the wall
usually after a suitably impressive brawl
in a big hall with chandeliers to swing from.
it seems our fears can always be assuaged
by the sight of a good-guy on a rampage.
And that would be pretty much that.
Peace restored – let’s go home for a chat!
We’ve dispensed with that troublesome brat
so we normal people can get back to being – well,
normal and good I suppose.
could it be true that very few of those
happy-go-everafter stereotypes really exist?
Most of us go out and get pissed
just once in a while – perhaps commit
some vile little act of perdition.
Would it be sedition to suggest
that each ordinary little man at his best
is capable of absolute super-hero-ness
and at his worst of bearing poison-apples
to the dwarves and Snow-White?
Is it right that our kids should decide
the bad-guy is always outside and they can beat him
by beating him up or locking him out
or by waiting for Spider-Man ?
Might 'Jekyll and Hyde' not make better bed-time reading ?
In a list
Comments?
Comments
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...as indeed it does
or seems to!
This is a different world from the one we knew
when we had recently learned to read.
Of course I speak about times which to you
are as the Middle ages! Verily indeed,
the bad guys all wore black hats to separate
them from the good guys whose hats were white
and whose six-guns never needed reloading
no matter how many shots they shot. Disparate
days when damsels all in flowing skirts
and gentle ways would have needed much goading
to be their own source of strength, or fight
for the right to think for themselves. Hurt
them and they wilt like wet tissue to the floor.
Today we have a sterner type who can spot
a conniving conman in his beguiling guise
as the most charming of suiters, and not
"Prince Charming" but with no hint of virtue.
Not that the wilting blossom of pulchritude
sighs guiltless waiting to be rescued
from the dragons of lonely spinsterhood!
There are more fish in the sea to be caught
as she casts her net of "healthy-looking hair"
and fake-faces made of nose-jobs, cosmetics,
plus enlarged bosoms to find a never-never ranch
of temporary bliss. They deserve each other.
Is it any wonder then, that baby-faced vamps
strut their stuff in pageants, having tasted
of adult vices before their time? Tiny tramps
with old eyes, wise before their turn, wasted
youth that was cast aside in search of chimera.
The unreal world of constant war, the greed
that has twisted all that could have been good
into a society that now faces Global Warming
with doubting while glaciers shrink and icecaps
melt, and arctic mammals die. Disbelief until
a rising sea inundates all coastal cities,
drowning hapless humans in their wealth. Perhaps
I paint too harsh a scene with their iniquity?
Not all is lost, and not all people are like
that. Yet optimism is under seige in daily news
and we are leaving a wasted world behind a dike
that cannot hold back the consequences we ignore.
A wanton world of blind search for pleasure? Who's
to judge if Fundamentalism (Islam as well as ours)
can resurrect a better world from all that yahoos
have left behind in the clutter of misspent lives?
When life has become so utterly cheap that death
must prematurely end it, what in fact, survives?
Our grandchildren inherit the world we are making,
and will need Superhuman resources without faking.
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You wrote a mighty inspiring poem, John!
Your light tone found a much darker echo.
Sorry about that.
Terry. Rewarded 4
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Look what it inspired
My Dear Terry ,
I hope you will not take offence if I volunteer that this poem of response is about as fine a piece as I can remember you posting here and I believe you should give it a title and post it in its own right. Your passion and intelligence shine from its lines , its subtlety almost completely concealing its controlled form and rhyme to let the message roar aloud .
It far outstrips the small cameo that provoked it but I am hugely gratified to have stimulated such a response, as this poem was certainly not written in a wholly humorous vein, on which note see also Emma's 2 comments , also hugely gratifying.
Moments like these make participation in SP the joy that it is. Thank You .
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Wonderful
This poem really rings true with what I was just watching, The Punisher. This poem is bueatiful I love how well you point out that everyone can be brave and evil all at once. Each person is capable of everything. We should teach people that.. Rewarded 1
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Hi Red!
Nice to see your face in this place! Glad you liked Spiderman and agreed with my small philosophical point. Haven't seen the movie you mention but on this point see 'Crash' and 'Munich' for excellent viewing. -
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Love those movies
Those movies are amazing, much better then the Punisher but the Punisher is a comic book movie based on someone who really isn't a hero. The idea is similar to the darkside of your poem.
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2nd comment
Just showed this to my 10year grandson and a wonderful discussion ensued. I was quite amazed at his grasp of this concept that there is good and bad in all of us and that we have to try and fight the inclination to do the wrong thing.
Victory to the grey man(Dave Ochs)
Thanks Emma. Rewarded 1
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So Gratifying
Emma , I can't imagine a more gratifying response to this poem. That it should be aired outside of our (somewhat incestuous) little forum and inspire such a conversation is truly rewarding for me. Young people can have incredibly healthy intuitions , given any chance to examine and reveal them . Adults can lose that somehow. Thank you - and your grandson- so much ! -
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Thanks for your reply.I will pass on your comments to my grandson and hope to inspire in him a love for reading and analysing poetry.
Regards Emma
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jekyll and hyde gives nigthmares
perhaps you've struck a chord of thruth here, much safer and neater to imagine the world as black and white. the good guys (us) and the bad guys (them) hey it works for Geoge W. but as you so adrointly point out there is some good and bad in each of us, hence shades of grey.
a superior write.
dave. Rewarded 4
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Simplistic solutions do the same
Thanks for the comment and the compliment Dave . Wish George W. were as enlightened . Never mind though , when the shit hits he can always get the truckers to circle the wagons and call on Arnie to save the day! My Best >W<
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very thought provoking and very articulate.
Great lines33-36.
enjoyed it v.much -
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Thanks Emma , glad you liked this and particularly the lines you singled out which for me are the crux of the poem and the matter both. I appreciate the feedback greatly. >W<
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