Paul Goldberg’s most recent poem to appear here was “Fly fishing” (July 2016)

Why Super Heroes Have Capes
By Paul Goldberg

On the couch, barely four,
saucer eyes affixed to the floor,
Howard Henry Grape
wanted a super hero’s cape.

There it lay, all shiny and red,
“A super cape,” his mother said.
Laying his paint box down,
He painted his initials, big and round.

He pulled the cape up from the floor,
tied it around his neck but felt no more super than before.
He tugged on the cape to set off its power.
He waited and waited for what seemed like an hour.

Suddenly, a cold breeze rolled under the door.
He shuddered and pulled the cape against the chill on the floor.

In walked his sister as he hid in his cape.
She just ignored him as part of the landscape.
He chuckled and thrilled at the thought of this feat.
For now, he was sure he could disappear from anyone he’d meet.

Nap time came. It was time to lay down.
He made a tent with his cape on the ground.
As he drifted into his naptime hour,
he smiled because he knew he possessed the super cape’s power.