in every panel—she is falling,

she is being thrown, she is shot,

she is shot so many times

In my dream last night,

I was in your arms

but you refused to take off

your mask

you said you weren’t sure

if it was still you

underneath it

The superhero’s girlfriend

calls him by his nickname,

she works as a reporter

or a nurse or a sometimes a teacher

she is getting more agency, everyone

keeps saying

Once you kissed down

my thighs and I tried not 

to think about how I couldn’t

remember what your voice

sounded like before you

began to save everyone

The superhero’s girlfriend wears

outfits that are cute but not sexy

jeans and blouses

sundresses and sandals

sexy is for villains

for the women the superhero

needs to outwit

he never needs to outwit her

Sometimes I close my eyes

when you’re in me and 

I imagine myself falling

from buildings and bridges

into water, into streets

and in my head

I don’t let you save me



Chloe N. Clark is the author of Collective Gravities, Your Strange Fortune, and more. Her forthcoming books include Escaping the Body, Every Song a Vengeance, and My Prayer is a Dagger, Yours is the Moon. She is co-EIC of Cotton Xenomorph.