11 Aug: "Super Orphan" by Fatimah Asghar

Today, I donned my cape like a birth
certificate & jumped, arms wide into the sky.

–

I know—once there was a man.
Or maybe a woman.
Let’s try again: once, there was a family.
What came first?

–

What to do then, when the only history
you have is collage?

–

Woke up, parents still
dead. Outside, the leaves yawn,
re-christen themselves as spring.

–

Lets try again. Once there was a village
on a pale day, unaware of the greatness
at its gate.

–

Today, I woke:
Batman, a king over Gotham.
The city sinning at my feet
begging to be saved.

–

The same dream again:
police running after my faceless
family with guns
my uncle leaps into a tulip
filled field, arms turning to wings
as bullets greet him.

–

Today, I woke, slop-lipped
and drunk, cards in my hand,
Joker in my chest. Today I woke
angry at the world for its hurt
wanting to make more like me.

–

Are all refugees superheroes?
Do all survivors carry villain inside them?

–

Today, I donned my cape like a birth
certificate & jumped, arms wide into the sky.

–

How else to say I am here?