Bisexual Barbie

— Denise Duhamel

One of ten Barbies is left-handed,
another ten percent are lesbian.
But it's hard to keep track of the bisexual ones —
their orientation often secret, or if overt,
still undetectable. Barbies dress in front of one another
and statisticians think nothing of it.
Two Barbies often share a sleeping bag or double bed
because there are twice as many Barbies as Kens.
Two Barbies live in one Furnished Glamour Home
when each could easily afford her own.
When a Barbie closes her eyes, it's hard for her to tell
if she is reaching out to another Barbie or a Ken.
Female or male, the plastic doll-skin
is equally cool and smooth. Bald seamless crotches,
equally dry and unresponsive to touch. Both
have hard chests and legs that resist being spread.
The giveaway is always the hair—Ken’s
is simply a splash of paint over his scalp.
But how many lonely Barbies—who’ve taken sophisticated trips
to Greece, New York City, and Italy—can be so straight
as to let a blond ponytail get in their way?