Homeless Woman Rides a Barbie Bike Handless!
Down the street,
a tiny bicycle meanders.
The rider holds a bag of cans
over a shoulder with her left hand.
It’s an old woman,
bespectacled, brown hair flowing,
wearing a groovy cloth coat.
She’s riding a Barbie bike
with white tassels,
white tires,
white handle grips.
Wait! She’s riding handless!
She’s swigging from
a fifth of Southern Comfort
with her right hand!
Janis Joplin drank Southern Comfort!
This woman looks exactly like Janis Joplin!
Jesus this is a lot of exclamations in a poem!
You never read exclamation points in New Yorker poems.
New Yorker poets apparently
have no exclamation points
in their lives
to convey in poetry.
Just a lot of
…
;
?