The Bat

The Bat
By Cody Robinson

A dry, malformed figure
lying face down
unmoving
upon the sidewalk,
the heat of a summer day
relentless, overpowering, unforgiving

I wonder what brought him here
this delicate winged creature
from his cool, dark home
to the center of this prison yard
where his energy was drained,
and the weight of the sun
a burning, golden disc
pressing down upon his back,
forcing him to nestle against the concrete
close his eyes
and die.

I wonder too
if he would have flown over this place
had he been aware of its capabilities
to leech, to defile, and to devour
everything containing
even the smallest bit
of good.

First published in Between the Bars, June 13, 2011.


Cody Robinson is 27 years old and has been writing for the past twelve years. He is currently serving the last thirty days of a five-year prison sentence. Originally written in a poetry workshop in January of 2010, he had the great fortune to publish this poem online through a non-profit organization called Between The Bars, which gives a much needed voice to inmates. His blog site is http://betweenthebars.org/blogs/239/, but any BTB blog you visit will help an inmate's recovery.