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Bikers at the Donut Shop
by
Alice N. Persons


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Just outside the Concord Rotary,
there's a Dunkin' Donuts
where I like to stop on my way home
from New Hampshire.
There were polished motorcycles with sidecars
in the parking lot.
Inside, ten bikers
in full regalia, studded leather, big boots,
Harley jackets, tattoos—men and women.
This was not a midlife crisis:
they were wrinkly and frail looking.
Two of the women had long, long
grey and white hair
streaming down the back of their
heavy black jackets.
No Botox or liposuction,
everything not covered in leather
sagged and puckered.
They were smiling, exuberant,
got their decaf
and bran muffins
and pretty much took over the place.
I got coffee and sat in a corner,
staid and dull
in my black business suit
and blunt cut hair.
Couldn't take my eyes off them
and, back on the road,
for miles I kept smiling.


From Thank Your Lucky Stars (Moon Pie Press, 2011).
Used here with permission.

 



Alice N. Persons is the editor and publisher of Moon Pie Press, established in 2003, which publishes work by poets from all over the country and now has 127 books in its catalog. Author of five collections herself, Alice lives in Westbrook, Maine with three cats and a dog, all rescues, and serves on the board of the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. Alice loves painting, holidays, travel, baking, and Maine in all seasons.

           

 


Post New Comment:
Lori Levy:
I liked the humor and insights in this very visual poem.
Posted 02/24/2024 12:39 PM
Glen Sorestad:
Wonderfully descriptive poem. If you go to South Dakota in early August you could see this scenario in any donut shop in the Sturgis/Rapid City area. Thanks for a most enjoyable poem, Alice.
Posted 02/24/2024 11:25 AM
Judy:
Alice, great imagery and message! I have seen the motorcycles and sidecars, and these gentle-hearted old men with their long grey-haired ponytails and sagging tattoos--in leather, their women at their side, at a little diner in Chapman, NE. Enjoyed!
Posted 02/24/2024 11:24 AM
RonPoems:
This well-crafted poem is a wonderful celebration of real people.
Posted 02/24/2024 11:04 AM
Tom Sharpe:
It is not always as it appears. Malcolm Forbes was a biker.
Posted 02/24/2024 10:04 AM
Angela Hoffman:
and I now I am smiling
Posted 02/24/2024 10:02 AM
peggy.turnbull:
Enjoyable poem. Hurrah for the free-spirited bikers. And Sharons rightthat title is irresistible.
Posted 02/24/2024 09:31 AM
Darrell Arnold:
Now I'm wondering what kind of tattoo you might decide to get.
Posted 02/24/2024 09:04 AM
Darrell Arnold:
I love this poem, Alice. Older folks finally getting to do some "relatively" wild and crazy things and enjoy themselves. And God Bless You for attending to your staid and dull responsibilities. We all know, now, that there's a biker chick in there somewhere, behind that business suit and haircut.
Posted 02/24/2024 09:03 AM
Sharon Waller Knutson:
This visual sensual poem had me at the title, Bikers at the Donut Shop. i could see the smiling wrinkly and frail looking gray haired female bikers, taste and smell their decaf and bran muffins and I am smiling as I write this in my pajamas.
Posted 02/24/2024 09:02 AM
Wilda Morris:
Fun poem!
Posted 02/24/2024 08:23 AM
Larry Schug:
Everyone fits somewhere. Good work, Alice.
Posted 02/24/2024 07:37 AM
DavidTookey:
I too have my donut shop memories. I hope everyone does! Nice poem!
Posted 02/24/2024 06:20 AM


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