If I could only have a superpower… or two…

I did get a writing prompt in this morning’s email from Paul Taubman at the Ultimate Blogging Challenge. But for reasons that I can’t share yet, I’m going to put off that topic for about a week or so. You’re probably wondering… reasons that I can’t share yet?

Exactly! I am going to make a Big Announcement! Just not quite yet. You’ll have to keep reading this blog to find out what it is! 

Now that I’ve finished teasing you, I’m going to tell you about the writing prompt that I found on the internet. It is: if you could have a super power, what would it be?

My first choice for superpower would be the ability to fly. But now, I’m thinking that I really need to have two superpowers. Not only do I need to be able to fly, but I also need the eyesight of an eagle.

After all, I need to be able to see where I’m going when I am soaring over the earth! I also need to be able to see where I’m going when I come in for a landing. 

For sure, Superman never flew blindly. He had X-ray vision and microscopic vision. He could see distant planets with his naked eye. His alter ego, Clark Kent, wore glasses, but I suspect that was just so it wouldn’t be too obvious that the newspaper reporter wasn’t confused for Superman! No one looked very carefully at Clark Kent, even when he was interviewing them, so they were all clueless. Metropolis was full of impressively unobservant people.

But I digress, probably because I like talking about superheroes and I don’t get too much opportunity to do that. Back to the power to fly and the power to see what the heck I’m doing and where I’m going up in the sky. It’s a pretty cool thing. I remember this flying scene in “A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeleine L’Engle. Mrs. Whatsit has transformed herself into a magnificent creature with a horse’s torso and a human body.

And she flies, higher and higher, so that Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace can see the universe, both the good and the bad parts. They fly so high that there is not enough air for them to breathe without the help of flowers that they are carrying.

Those flowers are their super power: the air supply that take them beyond the planet’s atmosphere into the great mystery of outer space. They have become part of the universe. It is a magical moment.

And so, I see flying as something magical, something wonderful, and something very powerful. In my dreams, I fly. And since, we have had to stay close to home and travel mostly in our imaginations, I choose the most wonderful form of transportation as my super power: human powered flight and the ability to see where I am going.

Question for you: If you were to have a superpower, which would you choose?

5 thoughts on “If I could only have a superpower… or two…”

  1. Where do you want to go today?

    Hi Alice
    I am thinking more about flying than super powers.
    As for the vision and other skills required for flight, I will let the commercial pilots worry about that and trust they will use the technology they have to improve the "vision".
    I am also recalling a lovely movie from 1984 that was popular with our children.
    (Mom and Dad liked it too)
    The method of flight was so adorable even though it might be a little chilly.
    See if you can find "The Never Ending Story"

  2. Hmm, tough choice Alice. Flying would be fun for sure! But I think being invisible would probably be my superpower of choice. So many places to go and learn and see for 'free'! Thanks for sharing a question to get us thinking today.

  3. Crystal Nicole Jones

    Hi Alice, your post brings back so many fond memories of Superman and a Wrinkle in Time! If I have to pick…three come mind. Flying for sure, but I also would like to transport myself around the world and stop time like Evie on Out of this World. Thank you for sharing your superpower with us!

  4. How I loved watching the original Superman in the "old" days! My superpower would definitely be super sight. Eyesight is something I can't imagine being without but super eyesight would b awesome.

  5. Hello Alice,

    A beautiful story, and something
    I wrote a poem about many years ago.
    My super power? The ability to heal – and, let's face it, I'd begin with me.
    So much illness in the world, physical as well as mental. Given time i'd work out the details in a lovely story, but not at 1:30 a.m.!
    Lee Cohen

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top