Virgil Hawkins

I saw the challenge

And I planned from a distance for this poem to be deep

I teetered toward an eerie tone

Pedaled in the direction of erratic

Certain I wanted the static to cipher through all the senses of the reader

Toying with how to make the discomfort soothing

But I never took pen to paper

Didn't turn on my slow ass laptop

Until he came to me

With an hour left to the deadline

He put a shock into my system

-

Static Shock

A staple in the Saturday cartoon lineup of my brother and I

One of my early favorite superheroes

Got his powers by accident

Made a choice to be a hero

Like many of the greats

-

I wasn't a comic book kid

I didn't know about Black Panther and Miles Morales

I knew Static Shock

A Black teen from Dakota

Who was smart and funny

With a cool costume

And was constantly saving his town from some crazy shit

Manipulating and wielding electricity through his veins

-

I was grateful for Static Shock

Before I knew that I was

-

I think of the pillow pallets

Cereal spilling onto old blankets

And I know his powers were real

He surged pride through the TV screen

-

Even now

As I type

I feel a charge