• Staring at cartoon heroes in awe
    Was only the beginning of my journey.
    Plywood sword in hand,
    I lived the legends in my backyard realm.
    I sliced imaginary monsters,
    Rescued damsels in distress, and
    Saved the world twenty times a week.

    Second to none I stood by my orange tree fortress,
    Tattered shorts and a shirt smeared with dirt.
    I was a four-foot tall Achilles, though
    I had no weakness.
    My mastery with a sword was unmatched,
    The kids on the street soon feared the
    Ring of my wooden blade
    That I granted the name "Joe".

    I leaped wide gorges and cut mountains in two,
    I saved the Princess from the terror in the pool,
    I lived to fight and I fought to live,
    Mercy I knew not and had none to give.
    I conquered playgrounds and ruled the block,
    A king and his sword with a body tough as rock,
    I won every battle and my losses were zero,
    I was everything I could be, I was a hero.

    People older and supposedly wiser shook their heads,
    But I refuse to surrender to this,
    "Reality", a dark and violent world
    Where dreams are crushed and heroes are forgotten.
    I've bested the biggest of fire-breathing dragons,
    I've slain the worst of evil wizards, and
    Rescued cute princesses from nightmares.
    I was Achilles without any fault,
    The "real world" won't take that away from me.

    Now,
    I still dream.
    Now I wield a steel blade that flashes with the light of morning,
    The air whispers poetry as I swing it,
    Cutting down evil like light cuts through darkness, this
    Beautiful sword I rightly named "Dawn."
    In black 100% Egyptian Cotton and ripped jeans,
    Confident smiles and cold stares,
    Unparalleled strength and agility,
    I am a true hero.
    I save girls from rapists,
    Boys from gangs,
    Parents from worry, and the
    World from trouble.
    I make the streets safe again,
    Steel blade shining with the next sunrise,
    Proving the darkness isn't something to fear.
    The wind teaches the world how to freestyle as
    I slash that sword through the air,
    Striking down monsters that are
    No longer fire-breathing dragons, but
    The faces of sin and greed.
    My playground kingdoms crumble as I
    Protect my home realm,
    Where within lies family, friends, and
    All that truly matters.

    I want to be the one
    Who stabs Hate in its
    Winter-cold heart with the
    Searing warmth of Love.
    I dream of walking through city streets,
    People turning to smile at me,
    Dawn sheathed in its golden scabbard
    As they whisper,
    "He's a hero."

    And so I dream.
    I dream that we can
    All be dreamers, we can
    All be heroes, we can
    All be poets.