Dear Lois by Bob McAfee

(What if Clark Kent wasn’t really Superman?)

Faster than a speeding bullet.
More powerful than a locomotive.
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Look up in the sky!
Yadda. Yadda. Yadda.

OK. I realize he speeds faster than the wind,
is built like a Tonka Truck,
jumps so high his shoes can’t keep up.

All I know is that he has a big “S” and flies – 
and you can’t wait to be carried in those arms of steel.

But if you think about it, he is strange: leotards, 
a swishy cape, x-ray vision and balls of lead – 
and I’ve heard he is a beast 
on days he has a kryptonite headache.

If only I had x-ray vision. I bet you have nice bones.

Also, the guy’s a workaholic. Every weekend 
he is on the road, changing the course of mighty rivers, 
bending gun barrels so that they shoot sideways, always
another beautiful woman in his arms, being rescued, 
while you sit in your studio apartment,
alone and unfulfilled.

This is the part that you just don’t get. Underneath my
glasses and my three-piece suit beats a heart of gold 
and a cucumber of desire. If only you could see!

I would rather work at the New York Times but here 
I get to sit at a desk next to you, dreaming of the day 
I can lounge around our suburban love nest
in my undershirt, watching Oprah on a color TV,
growing old and fat with you.

Would you like to meet in a phone booth, 
maybe discover who the real super man is?

Sincerely,
Clark

Bob McAfee is a retired software consultant who lives with his wife near Boston. He has written nine books of poetry, mostly on Love, Aging, and the Natural World. For the last several years he has hosted a Wednesday night Zoom poetry workshop. Since 2019, he has had 159 poems selected by 64 different publications. Two poems Nominated for Best of the Net. His website, www.bobmcafee.com, contains links to all his published poetry.