C’mon son
You can do it
Just a little higher
Take a deep breath
Now you’re gonna jump to Mom
She’ll catch you
Don’t worry
She’ll always catch you
You’ve done this before
Just this morning even
The only difference is
That people are watching
Now let’s give them a show
One
Two
Three
Go!
Great jump Dick
That was amazing
Now you just go down
And wait for us to finish
We’ll be right down.
I promise

Every night this week
God it’s the same old dance
I perform like a pro
Probably one of my best shows ever
I forget that now
How good I was
It’s always over shadowed
Drowned out by the inevitable
The sound of the rope giving way
The terrified screams in the audience
A little boy’s voice screaming “no.”
My voice
It’s the same thing
Nearly every night
I wake up
Drenched in sweat
Gasping with the “no”
Still dying on my lips
Only now I’m alone
Alfred’s not waiting with cocoa
To calm me down
And Bruce
Well he’s not here
Hasn’t been for years now
But every time I wake up
I want him to be here
Saying “It’s okay chum”
Or something stupid like that
Something fatherly
Or even just nice
I need to get out
Get some air
Beat up the bad guys
Escape from it for a little while
God I
I miss them
My parents
All three of them.