A/N: Hi! I'm actually over 12 hours before the deadline this time (Although it's sad that I see that as an accomplishment)! I know I say this every time, but school is insane. I just took my first SAT this past Saturday - every day before, I was consumed studying for it. But no matter - that's over with (for now), and I finally managed to write this poem. This is my submission for Round 2, Part 2 of the Multigenre Mashup SmackDown contest! The prompt was a poem about a superhero or -heroine. I hope you enjoy!

To be a hero

Is to keep my head high,

To smile and wave,

Even if it's a lie.

To be a hero

Is to conceal the pain,

The grief, the guilt-

Only strength must remain.

To be a hero

Is to never shed a tear,

Be untouchable,

Or so it appears.

To be a hero

Is to take judgment with grace,

Bear the vile words,

Sharp as the spikes of a mace.

To be a hero

Is to fake my smile,

Take their award,

Empty as it is, then chat awhile.

A hero is a symbol,

A glamorous figure of myth and legend.

But people don't understand;

In this line of work, my life always comes second.

Heavy is the weight

Of the lifestyle I lead,

Yet I lift it all, with no regrets,

For I could never abandon people in need.

A/N: Any thoughts?

In the interest of full disclosure: Is poetry my strong suit? Nope, absolutely not. Could I probably have written a better poem, given more time? Yeah, I think so. I mean, Labor Day weekend starts tomorrow for me - given those few extra days, I probably could have really improved this. But I don't have more time, so this is what I'm sending in. I hope it's good enough to make the cut. :/

This poem was written (or at least attempted) in the ballad format - the format of all of the best poems I have ever read. If you haven't, go read Dreams, by Langston Hughes, Invictus by W.E. Henley, and "Hope" is the thing with feathers, by Emily Dickinson. All three of these poems had such an incredible, profound effect on me that I couldn't ever dream to emulate.

This was also partially inspired by Oppenheimer, which I went to see a few weeks ago. As a side note, it was a wonderful movie! Really appealed to both my history nerd and science nerd sides. But one of the last lines in the entire movie really hit me: it was when Einstein told Oppenheimer, "Just remember, [the award] won't be for you. It will be for them." It got me thinking - in a world with superheroes, how much governmental recognition would they get out just the goodness of the government's hearts? Based on how people are, probably not a lot. Superheroes would be a lot like celebrities, in that way - raised to a standard that's almost inhuman, expected to be perfect, surrounded by people that probably don't genuinely care for them, only what they can do for them. And that idea, of how alone a superhero must be in the world, was the basis of this poem. I hope it came across!

Anyhow, rant over. Thank you for reading, and I'll (hopefully) see you next time!