Poetry and Arts

Upon Seeing Spider-Man on My Way to Work

I saw the bastard webslinging over electric Soho,
miles above the stoplights and New Yorkers.

What I wouldn’t give to be up there in some red-
and-blues, slingshotting between skyscrapers,

ready to swing in and save some beauty getting
mugged. I’d take out the thugs with an uppercut,

a flick of webs and a one-liner. But instead
I’m walking home in the goddamn New York

cold, because my car broke down and it’s too
expensive to fix when you teach high school

and rent costs a grand. I wonder if Spider-Man
ever has to wait for traffic lights

or pedestrians, if the city is one slow crawl
below him. I’d trade my job, my BA,

hell even my wife, anything to climb walls,
spin webs, touch rooftops with toes.