Creative Writing Corner

Secret Superhero

BY NIKKI CUPPS (12)

He works

Hard through everything.

A single-handed hero.

Two jobs,

Three kids,

Far too many bills to count.

One house,

If you could even call it that,

With two tiny rooms,

No TV,

Less than what most people live with.

He struggles through the payments,

Lives paycheck to paycheck,

With little left over.

To his kids he is invincible.

Superman.

Yet heroes can cry;

Heroes can crack.

They can be lonely and suffering,

Just like you.

Every hero

Has a Kryptonite.

 His kids do not know this,

And think he is invincible.

 Unbreakable.

Unstoppable.

Yet while they are safe in their beds,

Sleeping, dreaming,

They are unaware of the tears he cries,

Feeling not like a father,

But like a great disappointment,

As if he has let his children down

By not giving them everything they want.

But they have warmth, food, shelter.

They say it now, and will when they’re older:

Daddy, you’re a superhero!