Tag Archives: day 14

NaPoWriMo 2013: Days 13 & 14: ‘Superman’ and ‘Captain America’

I wasn’t able to find time to do yesterday’s prompt, which was to take a walk and then write a poem based on what I saw. However, since I missed it, I decided to write two poems today. I also did it because today’s prompt excited me. It was to write a persona poem in the voice of a superhero. (What’s interesting is I wrote a poem about the Avengers last year, and now it’s a prompt!) As I said, I wrote two, one for each of my top two favorite superheroes. I’m not sure how good they are, but I hope you enjoy them.

Artwork by Alex Ross
Artwork by Alex Ross

Day 13:
Superman
By Nathan Marchand

Some call me, “Hero.”
Many call me, “Loser.”
I’m faster than a speeding bullet,
More powerful than a locomotive,
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
I could rule mankind, but I’d rather serve them.
But to them, I am too good to be true.
Their “heroes” brood and kill.
They can understand them.

But I am the Man of Tomorrow.
I am who they wish to become,
Who they could one day become.
Deep in their hearts, they yearn for greatness.
They see me, and see who they aspire to be.
Perhaps that’s why they scoff at me:
They fear they can’t reach these heights.
If they will only cast aside all that hinders,
They will believe any man can fly.

Day 14:
Captain America
By Nathan Marchand

Once, I was a soldier fighting for freedom,
A weakling granted incredible power.
Now, I am a man out of time
Who awoke from a frozen slumber
To find the world had moved on—
And my country had changed.
Ideals, morals, and patriotism are scorned.
The freedoms I defended are surrendered.
The line between right and wrong is blurred.

I am a relic of a bygone era, a forgotten symbol.
I punched out Hitler, but I can’t knock out cynicism.
No longer do I wear the flag of America the country
But of America the ideal: the nation she was and could be.
To forget that would mean the Red Skull won,
It just took a few extra decades.
I am a soldier without a country, but I still have a cause.
To fight for the restoration of the land I love.
Let all who oppose my shield yield!