The Ballad of Lois Lane

The Ballad of Lois Lane

(NaPoWriMo Day #1)

She’s taken down villains, corrupt politicians
Writer of exposés, a true journalist, driven.

She’s the best in the business, a smart chick with class,

But molded in most minds a damsel-distressed lass

No matter, she knows it’s her lot in life

To only be thought as Clark Superman’s wife.

A real fiery dame with ambitious spunk

Her downfall: one night with a blue spandexed hunk.

It’d been a rough night; a long hug’s all he gave,

But to Lois it felt like she’d finally been saved.

Then (just like a man!) he flew – Flew! – away.

In his arms warmed, chest-to-cheek she forever stayed.

But that was typical Clark, with his stupid disguise.

Of course she saw through it! But she needed his lies.

It spiced up their romance, for a while anyway.

It’s a life, when you’re young, that you think you can play.

The truth is, she didn’t need so very much helping.

Of course she could fight without crying and yelping.

Many of those rescues were really for show

A dutiful wife serving a super-ego

She simply didn’t want to hear (yet again) later

How her fixing the crisis somehow made her a traitor.

But like any Earthling, woman or man

There were a few times Lois needed a hand

She needed the man with the salvation embrace

And she pleaded with Clark to rise to his grace

But during her times of most need, he left her, alone

Until she finally realized, this is her Phantom Zone.

She’s still Mrs. Supe now, as she has been for years

The love might be gone now, but she has her career.

No matter how others see her, she pays it no worry.

She knows she’ll have the final word on her story.

With a sip and a smile, she knows her story's unfinished
Every hero has a moment when all hope seems diminished.

She’s worked her way up to Perry’s old job and his office

He took the last buy-out; though she missed him and his gruffness.

But now with his Scotch bottle and a bold vision

Lois is leading the Planet’s future multi-media mission.

Over Metropolis’ glittering skyline she surveyed her city, fulfilled,

Knowing every word she once wrote and every word that she will

Is just a letter in a moment in the life of a girl,

And that her words are her superpower, changing the world.

And no matter who she married, or whose fault is the pain

In the end, it’s her byline

Written by Lois Lane.

© 2013 Julie Bartha-Vasquez 

Margot Kidder in the original "Superman"
movies will always be Lois to me.

Notes on the poem:

• My original concept when I started my "WordNerdGirl" freelance business was "Lois Lane is the  superhero." When I was trying to think of a good first poem topic to tackle for NaPoWriMo over the weekend, this seemed like a fun subject.
• I did a little reading on what form would be best. I had a vague idea it would be a narrative and had a vague story outlined. I thought I'd be able to tell it in about 20 lines. Obviously, it took a lot longer. 
• I realized during the last 20 minutes of watching "The Walking Dead" last night (OMG!) that this would be a Ballad and what the title would be, which helped a lot. I decided on the "Heroic Couplets" just this morning because, hello... superheroes! How could I not at least try? That actually dictated the narrative of the story, and it veered into a very different direction than I originally outlined. Also cool.
• It ate up most of the day writing. And its really rough. The rhythm is way off on some of the lines. Gonna be working late tonight. Expect a nice short haiku tomorrow. Kiddos are also home on spring break. I can't lock them out of the house forever. But it was fun to write. 
• I'd love some feedback, if anyone has suggestions on how to make it work better. I'm going through some of the poems on NaPoWriMo.net's site later tonight. I can't wait to see what other people wrote.