Letters From Batman
Become a
Premium Member
and post notes and photos about your poem like Michael Ellis.
Memories from a very painful childhood. It had to be fiction because I survived and I am still here. Or maybe it was real...
Playing Batman and Robin is a lot different
When the Riddler is your Stepfather
And simultaneously an alcoholic and pedophile
When your secret mission is to keep him
From bringing heroin and ***********
To Gotham city
Your mother wanted to save you both
But Catwoman captured her
And held her six children hostage
You tried to save your brother
From the Riddler that October night
But you were just nine and
The Joker had you in quicksand
The rope was too rough for such small hands
Twenty years later you both get married
And you laugh at those childhood battles
Neither of you knowing
That those villains were still there,
The Penguin was waiting in the shadows
Batman gets arrested for Statutory rape
They put Department of Corrections
On his fabled cape
No Batbelt to help him escape
II
Batman sends Robin thirty-three letters
Written on that yellow prison paper
With those light blue lines
Tells him he's found Christ
Read the New Testament twice
Robin pretends to be happy for him
Even when he really doesn't believe him
And is too disappointed to care
And returned letters from his two children
Hurt him in the worst way
When all he wanted to do was
Give them four or five dollars
For Christmas or their birthday
III
Still in every Former Super heroes life
There is a Forrest Gump/ Gomer Pyle
That just takes it all in
Regardless of his sin
Just because he's your brother
And because you love him
Because you were the one that rode
On the handle bars of his bike
Holding the umbrella on the way to the store
While it was thundering and lightning
Not knowing that the real rain was yet to pour
And you were the one
That sailed into the wind like Mary Poppins
when the bicycle stopped
"Make sure Mama's groceries don't drop."
You open those letters
Because he was one that you looked up to
When there was no father to answer your call
And a twelve year old make-believe father
Was better than none at all
Because he built you a ten feet basketball court
Out of throw away scrap wood
It wobbled when you shot the basketball
But he did the best he could
And you were the one that used to ruin his fishing trips
By getting your hook snagged every ten minutes
And he would still ask you to ruin his next trip a week later
And he would walk in the dirty lake to un-snag your line
Because you didn’t like getting your clothes dirty or wet
You don't tear up those those letters
Because he was the one that
Shared those stupid
What-are-we-going-to-do-now-looks
At your mother's funeral
And you hated it when his kidneys failed
And he was only fifteen
And he couldn’t fight bad guys anymore
And you both swore never again
To wear those stupid capes
Your heart failed when he was charged with rape
You open those letters because
When you can't sleep or rest
Nothing like a game of Russian Roulette
Ignoring the voices in your head
The next letter is the one you’ll regret
IV
But hidden in those letters
Between the lines of
Those religious rants
Somewhere Between the Johns
The Deuteronomies and the Acts
Were those unknown facts
That never made it to
The courtroom
Was never read by the DA or judge
The DNA that got lost by Vice
The bloody tissue misplaced by
The evidence clerk
The real trial was in those letters
And you learn that he wouldn't
Tell the Judge the real truth
Waived his right to a trial
Because he didn't want his kids
To end up in Foster care.
And Robin wasn't there
And he broke his promise
To never ever play hero again?
They gave him fourteen years
For another person's sin
We could have put those capes on one last time
We could have beaten the Joker
And put him and the Riddler on the run
Could have shot Cat Woman with our toy guns
After five years in prison
Batman dies at forty-one
And Robin has to go on
And it sucks that you left
All the clues with me
And I can't even use them to set you free
The rape you confessed to
Was never what we all believed it to be
And somewhere in Gotham city
The Joker, Penguin and Riddler
Are still running around free
Epilog
Goodbye Batman
Growing old with you
Would have been better
But the best of you remains
In these thirty-three letters
Copyright © Michael Ellis | Year Posted 2016
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment