Whoa, Howdy
FROM THE ONLINE CHAPBOOK FLAMINGO PARK
Whoa, Howdy
Miriam Levine
What’s with you, Mim? Are you nuts?
You tie a red ribbon to your bra to keep
out ghouls, but envy got in big time.
Some say it’s intractable. No way, hope-sap.
Sucker, think you killed envy dead?
Really? Till one more scoring poetry
queen with thick hair down her back. Whoa, howdy,
stab in your gut. Listen, Mim, you had dearest
friends, poets you love—mostly dead. You wrote
a few poems that may last. Stop pissing in
your tea. Don’t white knuckle. Attitude
of gratitude? Come on, dump that bromide.
From the poetry queen—she meant it—
“I want the world at my feet.” Mim,
did you? Hid it, if you did. The world. Leave it
to God. We all have troubles. We all die.
But only some have long thick hair. Buy a wig?
Screw that. Ego’s not your amigo, Mim.
Flamingo Park
Miriam Levine
2026
Flamingo Park is Miriam Levine’s gift to you. The setting of this online chapbook is the Flamingo Park neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida. The themes, for the most part, are love, death, joy—laughter and tears—the longstanding themes of lyric poetry.