When Spiderman taught me
With great power comes
Great responsibility
I walked out shirked mine
Dropped the ball
When Batman taught me
I’m only smiling on the outside
You might join me for a weep
I smiled and was invulnerable
Until I learned the difference between
Smiling and showing my teeth
When Superman taught me
Villains are made not born
I trusted strangers who
Offered candy or love
I cannot say how large is
The number of times I’ve
Made and been made a villain
When Doctor Strange taught me
No matter the danger I must go
I shut my eyes and ran through
I found myself lost
I cannot learn from mistakes
Not those of others not even my own
So, everything I learned in life
I learned twice
Alex is a lifelong reader and writer of stories. Raised on Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, she found comics and superheroes later in life. Alex is a collector of books with inscriptions written to other people. She cherishes these books and their secrets. Contact @alexwerner20 on Twitter to contribute a book to the collection.