On the TV show SMALLVILLE Clark Kent kept secrets
and Clark Kent always lied to protect his secrets.
People always can tell when someone has secrets.
People always can tell when someone is lying.
Clark Kent’s secrets and lies made life hard for his friends.
They felt hurt, frustrated, disappointed, angry.
But viewers knew—“viewers” are people observing
the story from a trans-textual perspective—
that Chloe, Lex and Lana shouldn’t have worried.
Viewers knew that all of Clark Kent’s secrets and lies
weren’t a reflection of his relationships
but rather were an expression of the turmoil
going on inside him as he struggled living
as a superhero. Clark Kent is Superman.
A friend of mine seems to constantly keep secrets.
A friend of mine seems to be constantly lying.
I’ve felt hurt, frustrated, disappointed, angry.
A few days ago Lana Lang took me aside
and had a chat with me in strange, intense whispers.
“Maybe you should look at your life,” Lana Lang said,
“from something like a trans-textual perspective.
Maybe the secrets your friend keeps, the lies she tells,
aren’t a reflection of her relationship
to you. Maybe they’re an expression of turmoil
going on inside her. Maybe she is struggling
with superhero angst. Maybe she’s Supergirl.”
I’m guessing it would be tough to be Supergirl.
And I’m guessing, too, that even normal people—
people who aren’t superheroes—might struggle
with something similar to superhero angst.
I’m glad Lana Lang took me aside, had that chat,
made me think from a trans-textual perspective.
I don’t know if my friend can fly, leap tall buildings
in a single bound. I suspect that she can’t. But
if someday she were to let me see her flying
I wouldn’t be too shocked to learn she’s Supergirl.
She always has been a superhero to me.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In Monday’s post I said
I have trouble letting go of things.
That’s true. But with today’s post
I think I’ve said everything
I can say on this topic.
I think I can let go.
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