Faster than a speeding bullet!
More powerful than a locomotive!
Able to leap tall buildings in
a single bound!
Look,
up in the sky!
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's
Superman!
strange visitor from another
planet
came to Earth with powers far
beyond those of mortal men.
Superman,
Can change the course of mighty
rivers,
bend steel in his bare hands,
who, disguised as Clark Kent,
mild-mannered reporter for a
great metropolitan newspaper,
fights an endless battle for
truth, justice and the American way.
But the american way always
Leads to other countries
everything you love hails from
a foreign land
Check your bags
Hats
Watches
Jackets
Literally anything that fosters
you from the shame of being naked in public
you'll see something special
A little tag
A reminder of where
things really came from
Outer space
you call us aliens
Already so it shouldn't be a
surprise
Our people have been around
long before the term was conceived
we've been waiting for our
mother ship to return
its finally found this solar
system
we know that its proper earth
custom to clean up "the mess"
so we'll take all of our people
with us
Every one ever called alien
,exotic
Foreign , illegal
Welcome aboard
This mother ship called
togetherness
Acceptance
Love
The new norm
this goes out to all the aliens
in the attic who hide from their last Name
Whose African accents
azonto with too much pride to be american
Whose tongues tango
with too much tenacity to Tame
Whose mothers maiden name
swings and sways with too much salsa to be similar
To everyone whose name is
Too Alvarez to be Anderson
Too Barrios to Burton
Too Carlos be Carlton
Welcome aboard
To everyone
who needs a green card
to set foot in this country
that's more white than red and
blue
Whose blood is just as crimson
who speaks their language to
gold star perfection
You are not second class
citizens
They've got us thinking
We're Clark kent trying to be
super man
When we're super man being
Clark kent
That's why we don't fit
We can't be Clark Or Lois
Jimmy ,Tom ,Dick or Harry
We aren't them
We can only pretend
Be fictional like superheroes
because they fear what we
really are
Superman
the world's greatest hero
Is The same super man
who isn't even a legal resident
of earth
but still hails the american flag
This is for all of you aliens
out there
Whose real kryptonite
is society's stereotypes
Who struggle in the juggle
between
being in American culture
and being the American culprit
Who turn this country's trash
into treasure
Who make diamonds from kryptonite
This call is for all of us
stereotypes
Everyone who speaks Spanish
faster than a speeding bullet
Everyone whose R&L's run
into
each other
More powerful than a locomotive
Every African who can leap over
tall buildings in a single bound
Look up to the sky my fellow
aliens
it's a bird
it's a plane
it's the mothership
Coming for us supermen
Strange visitors from other
lands
Who came to this country with
powers far beyond those of mortal men
who can change the course of
mighty ignorance , bend fate in our bare hands,
and who,
disguised as
, mild-mannered civilians
, fight a never-ending battle of
foolishness
,racism
and correcting the american way
By: Matthew Faturoti
I can't say it enough, today's posts are mind opening and therefore outstanding. I think this is my favorite. Well written, thought provoking and just plain SUPER (sorry I couldn't resist)!
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing piece for both its thought-provoking content and beautiful writing. My favorite lines combine alliteration with wonderful imagery:
ReplyDeleteWhose tongues tango
with too much tenacity to Tame
Whose mothers maiden name swings and sways with too much salsa to be similar
This line really stood out to me too, Renee! Matthew, this piece is brilliant and beautiful.
DeleteThis is incredible! There is so much packed into this piece, I wonder if this is a response to something in particular. I am excited to see how your writing progresses throughout the program.
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible! There is so much packed into this piece, I wonder if this is a response to something in particular. I am excited to see how your writing progresses throughout the program.
ReplyDeleteI like that this piece starts off really differently than how it ends. It begins with words/images of Superman that are easily recognizable, so at first readers think this is just going to something familiar, just an ode to a superhero. But just as readers are leaning back and getting comfortable, you introduce a totally different message. It's a really clever way of subverting expectations and not letting your audience get complacent.
ReplyDeleteThis piece also reminds me a lot of photographer Dulce Pinzon's series on immigrants as superheroes.
Outstanding!
ReplyDeleteMatthew, this is an great piece of writing that you submitted .I am intrigued by the way in which you used the hero superman as a metaphor for what it means to be a American when as you continue you remind the reader that in reality we are all Clark Kent striving to achieve the ideal of being the prototype of what society believes is a genuine American. I like the way in which you conclude that in many ways we are all superman,because every group that has come to America has contributed to it`s greatness.Matthew ,keep writing.
ReplyDelete