(Secret) Identity

I am
the whisper on
the lips
of tormented, helpless citizens

The anger in
clenched fists of
imprisoned
formerly running rampant
vile villains

I am
an absolute
the last true hero
to stand up to
corruption,
the final scion
of my own noble family
line

When Martha and Thomas
were back-alley
murdered
over 30 years ago,
Joe Chill robbed from me
my childhood
& only shot at normalcy
a young boy,
punted by the lucid kick
of both parents' death
right in front of
my eyes

I molded a persona,
this code
in honor of my father
the way he saw the world
& how it oughtta be
including our proud
legacy
so I created this
way to cope and deal with
the grief

Into the night,
I dive
from rooftops
next to ledges of gargoyle
perched buildings
when the
sirens sound,
& calls come in
to police radios- I intercept
to keep a step
ahead of them

Lying hidden in the
bookcase
is the lever which reveals
my true self
a sacred lair which lay
underneath
vast black granite counter tops,
quartz-floored corridors
and eyes behind
paintings, cameras which
securely keep watch
over this mansion
many only know it as
Stately
Wayne Manor

Making my way
through caverns, I then
throw on this cape
grab grappling hooks,
strap utility belt around waist,
pull on my cowl-
covering the disguise which many
fellow acquiantances
see every day
but they
don't know this
mask
which I keep in this cave-
my true face

Riddle me this,
Who is half-man, but always
fully animal
what does the lunatic
chase satiate deep
within bones
endless quest for vengeance which
even the greatest act
may never fully
quench

Wings of this mammal
allowed me to
take flight,
combat the injustice
which bleeds through this
filthy city,
all the color sapped out
when it was once
radiant with a kitschy,
vivid bright view

See, this depiction of
Bruce
isn't a sidekick-equipped spin
riding the sidecar
to some evil-doer's hideout
in a swinger's club,
BAM!
POW!
Holy unholy mad cows!
The Uttermeister, Calendar Man
or Egghead plan
no 'Na na nuh na nuh na nah na'
campy
Batman

The Cryogenically frozen scientist
lost his wife,
now hardened
by a cold, never-thawing
Heart of Ice

A former actor, felt his
life slipping through his fingers-
but the Clay he rubbed on
his Face
bid him his final role-
an image absent shape shifter

The obsessive compulsive
puzzle-boasting
mindbending, egotistical little
pipsqueak who
wears green, posing questions
endlessly
but his Riddles are not so hard
to decihper
for me

Bane of my existence-
that one who finally
snapped my back
he broke my
spinal column in half,
yet even with his venomous syrum
pumping, this mercenary was
never a formidable,
nor my ultimate
match

Somehow the Iceberg Lounge
is always packed,
entertaining some Scarface
or Hugo Strange
maybe high society, the
impressionable debutants which
Penguin wishes he could
call his friends-
yet he threatens their wealth
and their lives with his
fish, birds and smog spewing
parasols

Beneath sewers, crocs swim-
and Harlequinn
looks for her puddin' through
all the madcap-halls
of Arkham,
packed to the brim with
those I sent to
atone for their sins

My former friend &
District Attorney,
Harvey
who's scars have
Dented him
one death, and an accident-
charred one side of
his double-headed coin, yet
left unscathed
the rest of him

The man/God they call
Ra's Al Ghul,
he controls nearly all
the tools to spell
demise, like the Lazarus pit
& his daughter, which
would finally be the one to-
well, almost
make me submit(commit)

A botanical mistress,
with deadly lips-
we call this miss Poison Ivy
her vines wrap
walls of this Asylum,
she controls pheremones
which can have any many in her
control,
one sniff has you under
her spell
but one kiss, will
spell your
death knell

The straw-stuffed man,
with a sickle
who you wouldn't dare to
cross in a nightmare
Scarecrow does have a brain,
and when he hits you
with that fear-inducing hallucinogen
laced toxin
you'll wish whatever's
been haunting your psyche
could be cut off, but it
won't
stop there

Finally, a diamond thief of the feline
persuasion, this Catwoman
stole
my heart, but scratched me
when even
for love
she couldn't give up
the rush of the
heist

...but wait, I lied
the grand list of my Rogues Gallery
comes to its pinnacle here,
the final piece
is one that completes me-
although pure evil-
has always shown the most
demented, sick
relentless, twisted sights
Joker
has never once
shown signs of sanity
& most hazardous, is all it takes
is one bad day
to make any normal man
just like him

The Clown Prince
of crime
we, two sides of the same
coin-
Comedy/Tragedy
he's taken so many dear to me,
so it's no laughing matter
he paralyzed Barbara,
killed Tim,
almost countless times caused me
to break my pledge
it's inevitable, that this great
rivalry can only
end in death
whether his or mine;
It can't continue
yet does,
to bring equilibrium
to the fight
I must someday put his permawhite
Smile
to rest

Dick Grayson was never fit
to be merely my ward,
a Boy Wonder
Since his acrobat teen
days, was always
destined to leave the nest
& take his own stage

And though I raised him
& trained him
he wanted more,
I couldn't restrain him
from becoming a
Nightwing
who flew free,
could bear no longer
to stand
at my side-
he's become a
valiant, soaring, young
man

I am just a mortal
no Super Powers
no alien origin
or fall into
a vat of toxic waste,
no close encounter with
radioactive waves or
altered Spiders' bites to
change my fate;
simply technology, my wits,
physical prowess,
agility, intimidation and my ability
to never say die
I decided
to take my life
and spend nearly every
second of it
fighting crime

I am Caped Crusader,
winged avenger
World's greatest detective
the protector
of lady Gotham-
my symbol
this bat-spotlight
signal
strikes the city's skyline
& I must once again
be nocturnal for one night's
eternity

This call heeds,
my people need me
& no longer
will they have reason
to fear the
Dark
because I am
the
Knight






(c) Paul LaTorre 2010