Le Debutante

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Le Debutante by Vic Lee

Le Debutante

After the painting by Vic Lee

It seems that even Batgirl was a victim of the fallout

left  in the wake of the inexplicable Honey Boo Boo--

an attempt by Commissioner Gordon to shield

his little girl Barbara with the vestige and trapping

of "every pretty girl’s life". Thus the Beauty Pageant.

Or perhaps, captured,  a young Betty Kane endures

the mad torturing hatched by the cackling Joker, laughing

over an unseen record playing Debussy’s Arabasque #1.

How else do you explain the subdued flamingo's legs flopping

like curtain tassels at her tip-toeing waltz around the checkerboard?

Or maybe a nightmare which woke Cassandra Cain, interim Batgirl:

an image of herself mid-pirouette, ponytail hanging as if forever

frozen, smoke from  a pastoral cottage sewing simultaneously

every frill on her country gown, her assassin’s eyes are softened

by the futile search for her father’s approval in the indiscernible crowd. 

Whether you’re Betty, Barb, Cassie, or Steph under the mask

doesn’t matter; you were made to boost ratings so stuff

yourself in a dress and accept the identity we create.

by: L. Raymond Andrews