Skip to main content

Barbie

Rachna Vemireddy

 

you thought cookie-cutter homes were creepy?

well imagine rows of n e a t l y p a r k e d c a r s

going on for miles

taunting you

 

yet, only this caged lot is capable of hiding you

you duck and dart

from an overworked 2007 Honda Civic to a glossy, black 2020 Acura

                                                                                                                                    please God

 

you hear muffled steps behind you

and as your head turns 180

you see a blonde, straight haired, blue-eyed, pink lipped, short-skirted, high-heeled DOLL ©

smirking at you

 

her cackle shakes the planet

and you lose balance, receding into your shell

chest to knees, hugging yourself

 

as she dribbles you around

like a basketball

waiting to be stopped

 

Rachna Vemireddy is from Edison, NJ. She graduated in May 2021, as a Genetics major and Religion minor. She began medical school this fall.

This poem was written while taking Creative Writing: Poetry (351:306:01) under Joanna Fuhrman in Spring 2021.  Fuhrman selected the piece for inclusion in WHR.