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Vijay Seshadri writes about love, bodily pain, and his father’s obsession with the American Civil War in his latest book of poems, The Long Meadow. Seshadri was winner of the 2003 James Laughlin Award.

Superman Agonistes

“When my X-ray eyes look through the humans
to the need inside,
glowing red and green,
my blood cells collide,

my lungs collapse,
my cortex rebels,
and my heart wraps
a bomb around itself

and threatens to kill us both.
But I can’t stay away.
I have to fly down
to watch them pray,

to watch them couple,
to watch them fight,
exposing myself
to their kryptonite.”

Vijay Seshadri

“Superman Agonistes” copyright 2004 by Vijay Seshadri. Reprinted from The Long Meadow with the permission of Graywolf Press, Saint Paul, Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Music: Soundtrack, "At First Sight." Tracks 5 and 6