The Hulk

The Hulk

a purple panted Pinocchio of rage
the angrier he gets, the stronger he gets

a reimaged case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
a glossy illustrated pulp fiction
without evil intent or guile

a ton of muscle bound green fury
a cranky toddler, a Frankenstein
part Michael Jackson and King Kong
who just wants to be left alone.

After the adrenalin rush
he lays down for a nap
reverts into Dr. Bruce Banner
a physicist, a nuclear bomb inventor,
a spindly mild mannered geek.

But what’s with those pants?
Green gamma ray muscles
burst buttons, seams, and even shoes
yet he always shows up
in those uniformly raggedly ripped
just below the knees– purple pants

whenever puny Bruce stresses
or his Xanax prescription runs out.

Comic Code censors can’t show off
what’s below the belt
where the kids could see it.

Let him smash up a building,
a villain, a hero or two.
Leave Banner in a ditch black and blue.
That’s okay.

Rumors between the panels
hint at plans for a new bomb
designed to kill without a trace.

It’s why a sniper
hasn’t taken Bruce out.