Taking Superheroes Apple-Picking

Taking Superheroes Apple-Picking

We used to take them to pick apples,
we would assure our sons you will love cider!

But visiting an orchard was far from a quest
for three boys looking to be heroic

at the edges of a galaxy, longing
to protect planets that will worship them,

foil the plans of cosmic villains
out to conquer our universe.

Gathering apples in a basket was
as dolorous a master plan as our boys

could take, huddled in the back of our used,
small car, on a Sunday afternoon,

away from a television set imagining
how they defended alien races,

returning to their leaders the sacred curio
they saved from utter destruction.

Learning the art of choosing a perfect apple
was hardly a mission for budding superheroes

nor a story to impress their friends during recess,
Monday morning looming nearer than a deadly asteroid.