Before my laptop named Tobio
And my laptop named Lance
I had a laptop named Peter
Peter Parker, that is
With a large Spider-Man decal
(Before that I had one named Harry
With a golden snitch)
One travel day, back when it was Peter,
in the tiny regional Green Bay airport
I pulled Peter out, red and blue decal on full display,
To put him in a separate bin
And the TSA agent said
“I bet you wish you were his girlfriend”
Or some variation
And all I could do was nod, smile,
Get my luggage and go to the gate
Because what do you say to that
When that is not it
Not at all
I have never been particually invested
In the romantic relationships of Harry Potter
All that background noise of who he would fall in love with
Didn’t capture my attention (there was a wizarding world to save)
I told my mom this one day, years ago
And she told me it was because I was in love with Harry
For a long time I thought that must be it
But it is not it, not like that
Not at all
When I saw Wonder Woman on opening night
Afterwards, I went outside with the friends I dragged with me
Leaned up against the theater wall and cried
Was this how men felt every time they saw a movie
And saw themselves as the hero?
Because it’s never been about
Wanting to be MJ or Gwen or Ginny
Love them as I may
It’s been about wanting to be
Carol Danvers
Diana Prince
And yes,
Peter Parker
Harry Potter
Lance McClain
King Arthur
So no, TSA agent
I don’t want to date Spider-Man
I want to live in a world
Where you don’t see that
As my only choice