Poem Renaissance – M. Benjamin Thorne

Gyroscope Review is celebrating National Poetry Month with a Poem Renaissance, a review of previously published poems looking for new life and new views. Every day through May 20^th, a new poem to fall in love with all over again.

What if Superman Wore Payes
by M. Benjamin Thorne

He came to us, refugee in a burning
meteorite bed, and America praised him
as a native son, a savior, a Man of Steel.
But what if he wore a tallis, not a cape,
and his chest bore not an S but a star;
his weakness not bright green Kryptonite,
but the tight black curls of payes?
Would they still cheer if they knew
Kal-El meant the voice of God?
Would my country embrace you,
Superman, if it knew you were a Jew?

Originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of Constellations

A Pushcart Prize nominee, M. Benjamin Thorne is an Associate Professor of Modern European History at Wingate University. Possessed of a lifelong love of history and poetry, he is interested in exploring the synergy between the two. His poems appear or are forthcoming in Feral, Neologism Poetry Journal, San Antonio Review, Thimble Lit Mag, Last Syllable Lit, and Salvation South. He lives and sometimes sleeps in Charlotte, NC.

Don’t forget to read the Spring 2025 Issue, available now, online and in print

Previous Renaissance Poets

April Poets