> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://poetry101.love/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# further note to clark
- URL: https://poetry101.love/further-note-to-clark/
- Published: 2023-09-09T04:51:09.000Z
- Updated: 2023-09-09T14:40:11.000Z
- Description: by Lucille Clifton
- Author: Melissa Anderson
- Tags: Lucille Clifton, #Import 2026-11-04 19:11

*do you know how hard this is for me?* 
*do you know what you’re asking?*

what i can promise is to be water,  
water plain and direct as Niagara.  
unsparing of myself, unsparing of  
the cliff i batter, but also unsparing  
of you, tourist. the question for me is  
how long can i cling to this edge?  
the question for you is  
what have you ever traveled toward  
more than your own safety?

---

Clifton, Lucille. [The Book of Light: Anniversary Edition](https://www.google.com/books/edition/The%5FBook%5Fof%5FLight/MS3PEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bshm=rime/1&kptab=getbook&ref=poetry101.love). p. 37, Copper Canyon Press.

### Why I chose this poem

This poem is the second of several of poems to Clark Kent and Superman that thread through the book. I deeply appreciate the bite, the promises she makes, the unsparing question she poses for the the tourist. It reminds me of a recent conversation I had with a friend about travelling, the why of it, the how of it, and the difference in the stakes for the people whose lives the tourist walks through.