How About That?
By
Jennifer Angelina Petro
Have you ever stopped
To not think?
OK–then think
Of this:
You are a super hero
Every time you lift
Your hand to open
The door. Every time
You step out into
The world, you push
Space aside, making room
For your own velocity
And unfolding form;
Every time you get up
In the morning,
You thwart gravity–
Putting it in its place—
Behind you, below you.
Seeing this is the case
Why not infuse your every movement
And gesture with a certain
Outrageous confidence,
Purpose, a twinge of rage,
And a boatload
Of fun?
And while you could,
If ever called upon,
Save a life with a mere touch
Of your hand–
Today, just go about
Your day knowing
You can do anything
You need. Because
Remember: you adjust
Space—back space
And forward space, above
Space, and even below space
To suit your needs,
You mock gravity
Every time you walk.
And before you
Start thinking again
Of your seemingly little life
And how ordinary it appears,
And how you scoff
At this poem—
Know this in your very bones:
You are ridiculously amazing,
Your gifts are far-fetched
And magnificent—they are
Real. Not something made up
In lines and little dots
On a page or CGI effects
On a screen—
Getting up and out
Of bed in a world
Of such colossal uncertainty
Takes guts—nothing less
Than superpowers.
And it’s OK to feel
Proud and self-assured
In who you are—
It’s ok to have brooding moments
Of doubt and questioning,
Because, after all, you
Survived some freak accident
That changed you
And imbued you
With astonishing abilities—
Perhaps you crashed
Here from another dying world
Only to be raised
By strangers, or wolves
Until you decided it was
Time to throw open your cape
Like the dawn throwing off the night,
And glide out and over
The trees and cities
And become the eyes and hands
Of justice and all that is good, by virtue
Of the fact you are you
And no one else—
And go help save the world.
