Today, April 18th, marks the anniversary of the publication of the first Superman story in 1938. It is also, of course, National Poetry Month. As such, here is a poem I wrote which is inspired by The Man of Steel. While it may not be as good as Vadamir Nabokov’s poem about The Man of Tomorrow, I hope you enjoy it anyway.
Raindrops From a Cloudless Sky
When I fly, oh so high,
Above the city lights–
I sometimes sob, my tears fall down,
Through the dark of night.
I cry for those I left behind
A planet far away–
Who sent me here ‘cross lightyears vast,
On that fateful day;
I weep for those I cannot save:
The people whom I’ve failed–
Whose cries rang pleading in the night,
But to no avail;
I think of all the evil here,
And know I can’t defeat it–
Until the people grow at last,
And I am no more needed.
So if you walk ‘neath cloudless skies
And feel a drop of rain–
It may have come from someone’s eye
Who’s neither bird nor plane.
–A. A. Rubin
A. A. Rubin 