Arrow! Poem by Denis Martindale

He sought the justice meant to be,
His city to redeem,
As he played the vigilante,
His nightmare yet his dream...
At first, alone, a tortured soul,
With body scars to match,
Yet striving to maintain control,
Those criminals to catch...

Don't think that he first played it well,
Revenge burned in his heart,
He travelled Heaven, Earth and Hell,
His message to impart...
But soon some allies joined his side,
With all their skills employed,
Close friends who helped this man decide
His errors to avoid...

While others thought his life was fun,
A playboy on the make,
The city shook with all he'd done,
Fear stirred his foes to quake,
His love affairs were here then gone,
Like whispers on the wind,
Like silver stars that sometimes shone,
Their starlight to rescind...

The island where he used to live
Was steeped in hate and death,
With enemies that won't forgive,
But fight with every breath...
Surviving all, this man became
A hero known to most,
Though very few found out his name
To cause this man to boast...

In time, he even trained the Flash,
The fastest man alive,
So very young, so very rash
And yet he seemed to thrive...
Then other heroes joined these, too,
Their cities to make safe,
For folks like me, for folks like you,
Such heroes must be brave...

As long as justice proves the prize
And teamwork leads the way,
Each hero wears his own disguise
Up to this very day...
So train and learn! Suit up and fight!
In ways beyond our ken...
By brightest day, by darkest night,
Save souls and lives again!


Denis Martindale, copyright September 2015.


The poem is based on the comic book hero
called The Arrow, whose story has become a
TV series alongside that of The Flash...
Together, the two heroes fight crime in the
name of justice, soon to be members of the
famous Justice League of America...