Loony Lucy

Loony Lucy who's not that plain
plays with dolls at seventeen,
some joke played by the womb or genes.
When she walks by the park, expressway, or lake
there's always laughter, she's a happy girl.

Sweet sixteens would walk away,
and neighborhood men would pass her by
not knowing what else to do or say.
Mothers would hurry their little girls from her
and boys playing ball would stop to shout
"Hey loony Lucy show us your panties."

Underneath the elevated highway
where the sun is forever blocked,
during the evening when shadows merge
to form a blanket of dark,
she meets still another stranger.
He makes diamonds out of rhinestone and glass
and promises to return in Cinderella's chariot, after.
He presses her against the vaulting poles
that hold the roadway traffic up.
Their sighs are gentle below the roaring noise.
Now she waits, again through the night
for her chariot to appear.

Richard Fein