The Legend of Glowman, a poem by Joseph Mannino at Spillwords.com
James

The Legend of Glowman

The Legend of Glowman

written by: Joseph Mannino

 

There once was a hero
Or so the stories go
That stood watch every night
In freshly gathered snow

Deep in my memories
I can picture the place
With the crab apple trees
Cloaked in winter’s embrace

Out there on the front yard
‘Neath blue incandescence
Stood the mighty Glowman
In bright luminescence

I quite clearly recall
Many battles he fought
Vanquishing every foe
In the constant onslaught

With his frayed quarterstaff
And his black leather hat
He perfected all forms
Of hand to hand combat

Many years he stood guard
Each holiday season
‘Til one day he was gone
Without a good reason

Few theories arose
Of what might have become
Of the mighty Glowman
What fate did he succumb?

Had he simply been beat
Dragged silently away
Unable to fight back
In a meaningful way

Or perhaps something else
Befell Glowman one night
Something far more benign
Under midwinter’s light

What if like all legends
Born from the haze of youth
Time clouds our memories
Thus obscuring the truth

Lights we shine on our past
Pass through the prism of time
Now scattered and diffused
They melt into sublime

The truth now clearly lit
The fate of Glowman known
His story had to end
When I was fully grown

The fantasy expired
Fresh memory began
Turns out he was always
Just some plastic snowman

His quarterstaff a broom
His hat, molded plastic
Combat skills now suspect
Legend quite fantastic

Yet I fondly look back
On this remembered dream
Where imagination
And stories reign supreme

In the end it turns out
The legends we conceive
Are better than the truth
Despite what we believe

J.S. Mannino

J.S. Mannino

Joseph Mannino is a Tampa Bay-based poet who had a poem turned into a song at the tender age of nine and performed for the entire school in Upstate New York. Every day since he has been spent chasing the breakout success of "Roller Skates." He has recently had several poems published in several anthologies. In complement to his passion for writing, he loves to run, climb, and cook.
J.S. Mannino

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