KJ Hannah Greenberg’s most recent poem to appear here was “Oratory Redefined” (March 2020).

Her Epidemic of Bicycles
By KJ Hannah Greenberg

Her animus urged her first return to that superannuated mode of transportation.
Nearby, double-decker buses swirled trash and breezed passersby as she toured.
Since the work of streetcleaners never made anyone prosperous enough to retire,
She wondered, aloud, why the squib wanted to copy her vehicle to pace along.
Smiling, he preached: repurposing, finding fresh prerequisites for inventions,
Refashioning love, clothes, dreams, Dalmatians, rosemary, midweek leftovers.

Runagates of select varieties, he likewise espoused, oughtn’t host nullifidians or
Shivoos. Evil relatives must permanently be incarcerated in geographic prisons.
When not spilling cups, bowls, plates, else opinions on those inmates’ behalf,
He proved playful, yet quaint, content to spend evenings with scobberlotchers,
Gobermouches, rats, while taming local hillsides, jeering at darkness, spitting.
Pitifully, the carboys lashed to his titanium displayed his more juvenile needs.

She knew he’d simper whenever he’d get that peevish sparkle in his eyes, when
Modulating his tone and pace if stooped to lecture at approachable hooligans.
Like most ephemera, when thwarted, he’d reposition himself in zydeco dreams.
So, after replacing her tires, beauteous chrome frame, rose-colored streamers,
She gave the finger to a cretin whose “healing abilities” evinced prevarications.
Pedaled uphill, beyond familiar lanes, rode herself to improved circumstances.