The Dark Knight Rises (To the Everest Base Camp)

Gather round, kids, and let me tell you the story of how one of the most iconic movie trilogies of its time ended. The second part of the trilogy was one of the greatest, most beloved movies of all time, and great expectations rested on the shoulders of the third - the epic conclusion! The creative force behind the trilogy decided he wanted to close with a bang. He lined up the biggest plot device he could imagine and did everything right... but ended up with a conclusion that was ultimately less loved  than the second part - even though it was crafted with precision, it got accused of being a color-by-numbers predictable ending. Oh, and the big plot device, was a lazily reused Death Star...

You probably guessed right: the trilogy was Star Wars, the conclusion was Return of the Jedi, and the year was 1983.

But hang on you say... wasn't this blog about The Dark Knight Rises, you ask? Well ok... tell you what... go reread the opening paragraph of this quasi-review/ pseudo-rant. Just replace "Death Star" with "Nuclear Weapon", "Star Wars" with Chris Nolan's Batman Trilogy, and 1983 with 2012. Go on... I'll wait...

On Creation

It is a pity
The Inner Eye cannot
Wield pencil, brush, or, paint
If it could,
I would paint...

From the left,
An Olympian hand
Elbow shrouded in finest silk
Squeezing with abandon
A mortal chest, until,
From the puny eyes, ears, and mouth,
Bursts forth
A brilliant yellow light
To arrest
A Stygian dark

And I would call it
"Creation!"

Or perhaps
I would paint...

Two mortals,
Cowering, and Confident,
Atop a chariot
On a field of battle
No glory, gold, no halos,
Only kin,
Arrayed for slaughter,
Adorned in boiled leather;
One holds in his hands
A puny bow, awaiting
Stone tipped arrows
From a wooden quiver
Dipped, in lethal intent
The other spews forth
A steady stream
Of heady justification,
Deadlier than any weapon
Under a sky
Blood-red with fate

And I would call it
"War!"

A pity, thus,
(Or relief!)
That my Eye but paints
With words...