PENKNIFE

the following poems are from my london poems from 2011 to 2014

i just bought a new back wheel
for my tall and sturdy bike
and riding back from a party
i got hit by a big white truck
i was cycling by the curb
and the truck came hurtling up
i had the space of a meter or more
but i quickly lost that gap
suddenly i felt it-
a crunching of the wheel
i shouted in anglo-saxon: wehey!
as i leapt from the speeding frame
i fell into a running roll
and i stood and turned around
my bike was laying flat
the back wheel sadly spinning
i wrung my hands and giggled
and looked about in awe
the people that saw this happen
came up and shook their heads
are you alright?
i can't believe what happened
i didn't catch his number plate
what a fucking crazy driver!
are you sure you are alright?
a gay irish man was there
searching for his words
you uttered a cry
and flew from your bike;
like a... like a... a ballerina

i forced the wheel back into place
so it was was sort of fit to roll
the chain and gears were gnarled
so i couldn't exactly ride
and on the way two foreign drunks
looked and spoke about my bike
autobus smash, i said
ohhhhhh they said
finally arriving near finsbury
a man who was cycling past
said do you need some help?
i said yes please i got run over by a truck
what i can do, said tomas from hungary
eyes and brows sincere
is take a length of chain out
so at least you can get home
ok yes please, i said
and he bent down and used his little tools
and got his hands all oily black
and made my chain much tighter
now your bike is a fixie bike
so i'm afraid you can't change the gears
like my fixie bike, he said with a smile
thanks, hungarian dude

i seem to remember uploading this poem to hellopoetry back in the day under the title BIKE SMASH POEM. i like it because it has rhythm but no rhyme. i’m uploading my favourite poems from the poemarios in chronological order which is a little pointless obsession i have.