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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?

1 comment:

  1. Wow! I love the Gotham references to express the emotional conflicts within. Waking up and trying again, sounds tedious. This poem makes Aug 10th's poem a lot clearer. This is why someone would feel love but being away.

    The joker reference was sinister. I really like this poem because it's unlike any other poem I can think of; a lot more like a rap song. Where the anger fuels the passion

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