From the Vaults: “Gotham Jabberwocky”

I was going through the folders of old writing on my computer and found a file titled “Bad Poetry.doc.” It contains a few pieces of verse I wrote in grad school. The filename is not entirely fair. Sure, the stuff is old, and I’ve matured as a writer since then, but it’s not completely embarrassing.

Today is Free Comic Book Day! (It’s also Star Wars Day, but that’s a topic for another time.) Also, it was apparently Batman’s 80th anniversary last month and I forgot to get him anything. Mostly that’s because we broke up a few years ago (we wanted different things). But eighty is a big deal, so in honor of that, here’s a Batman poem from my vault. I wrote this when I was on a serious verse kick in grad school. I even published it on GothamCityUSA.com, a now-defunct site dedicated to animated Batman where I once ran a poetry contest.

Personally, I think the word “pranxome” makes the whole thing.

 Gotham Jabberwocky (2001)
 
 ’Twas Gotham, and the Arkhamites
 Did mull and mumble all alone.
 A-blinking were secur’y lights,
 And the Bat-signal shone.
 
 “Beware the Joker, O Dark Knight!
 The jaws that smile, the face that laughs!
 Beware the tricks and traps that write
 A thousand epitaphs.”
 
 He took his batarang in hand:
 Long time the pranxome foe he sought —
 So stood he there, o’er Gotham Square,
 And watched a while, in thought.
 
 And as in brooding thought he stood,
 The Joker, with a bomb aflame,
 Came speeding through the neighborhood,
 And giggled as he came.
 
 One, two! And down he flew!
 The batarang went snicker-snack!
 No bomb remained, and tightly chained,
 He brought the villain back.
 
 “And hast thou then the Joker caught?
 How like an angel you’ve appeared!
 Supposing, now, you told me how...”
 But he had disappeared.
 
 ’Twas Gotham, and the Arkhamites
 Did mull and mumble all alone.
 A-blinking were secur’y lights,
 And the Bat-signal shone.