Heroes and Villains: Day 16

Captain Boomerang

(with apologies to Les Murray)

Cold, Marvel, Atom, he mutters to the paddock fence,
Too many bloody captains and not enough mates.
Balances Four-Ex bottles on a post one after the other,

shearing them to tan lenses with the obtuse razor toy
he made this morning. He started at ten meters
and backed away until the blur and shimmer made him
horizon-deep. At this distance, the arc on sky

looks careless, a vee-bird
drawn by a lazy schoolboy who ran out of time.
He could try it out on a sheep. Truer result

and the neighbours wouldn't know for days.
That's the line between crime and villainy,
some dumb thing about it always comes back

to you, he thinks, skulling his next target.
The good shatter sound over the hill.
He's hit the mark or it's fallen.

Howzat? he yells, knowing no one's there
to appeal to, nor give a sign.