The Dark Knight

[heslopian]

First Edit:

The Dark Knight

The elusive beast, all claws and fangs, with an
Insatiable hunger, omniscient under the moonlight.
It’s onto you, you know, when the tips of its sharp appendages
Run down your spine. Escape, just scram, don’t think,
Until dawn cracks. Fall into its clutches, and be gnawed,
Swallowed whole. Be wary, be conscious, or you’ll be digested
Not knowing when, how, or why.
The city, all claws and fangs, with an
Insatiable hunger.

I’m a spawn of the monster, yearning to put it to sleep.
To quiet the dark, buried heart that
Beats noisily.
I’m a spawn of the monster, but different from the rest.
They relish in the beast’s mane, prancing
In neon delirium. They polish its weapons, I
Break them. They love their master,
I loathe it.

Human spirit, innately good, keeps the fight alive.
Beneath the vile corruption, beyond the wretched bile,
There must be compassion. Remove the pollution that
Became the accepted state of being. The fiend will die,
Alongside the plague it brought. Then comes the guardian,
Alongside the peace and smiles. And I, shall be lowered
Into the earth with the city’s darkness, waiting for the time to
Rise again, should the foul heart starts beating once more.

I don't read other comments before writing my own so I can respond to the poem as someone, say, reading it in a book without the context of this site would. Therefore, I'm a bit confused about who the narrator and "the elusive beast" are. The title of this poem makes me think you're writing as Batman, which I'm pretty sure you are, but the first verse seems to depict a bat, or bat man ("claws and fangs", "insatiable hunger", "sharp appendages"), which the narrator regards as an evil, murderous creature.
I can just make the narrative work in my head by assuming that the narrator's Batman and the evil in verse one isn't a bat but a metaphor for Gotham City, where presumably its criminals - the Joker, Scarecrow etc. - are the things with claws, fangs and sharp appendages which spend their insatiable hunger on the innocent. But I'm not even sure that interpretation is close. Some clarification within the text would really help. The last two lines clear it up, I guess, but you're still using a lot of bat-like imagery to describe something so evil.
The second verse is my favourite, because it's the most image-laden and poignant. Old chestnuts like "monster" and "buried heart" work perfectly because they're used clearly and succinctly. Also, I love the phrase "neon delirium", and the image of people "prancing" in it.
I'm not sure the third verse is even needed. It's stuffed to bursting point with ideas, like you're rushing them out, but also has some cliches ("vile corruption", "wretched bile") and a lack of images. That said, it's the verse which cemented my belief that Batman's your narrator, with the idea of him as a guardian who rises when a foul heart (another succinctly used old chestnut) starts beating. All critique is JMHO, of course, and thank you for the read