Miracle’s truck comes down the little avenue,
Scott Joplin ragtime strewn behind it like pearls,
and, yes, you can feel happy
with one piece of your heart.
Take what’s still given: in a room’s rich shadow
a woman’s breasts swinging lightly as she bends.
Early now the pearl of dusk dissolves.
Late, you sit weighing the evening news,
fast-food miracles, ghostly revolutions,
the rest of your heart.
Miracle Ice Cream by Adrienne Rich is a poem that describes an ice cream truck and a woman serving ice cream. This short but sweet poem uses very descriptive sensory imagery to describe the ice cream truck driving through a small residential area. Almost everyone gets the same scene in their mind of children chasing the ice cream truck down the street while the little jingle is playing out of speakers on the top on the truck. Another poetic device used in this poem is a simile “Scott Joplin ragtime strewn behind it like pearls,” This clever simile compares the ragtime music being played out of the truck as being strewn behind it like pearls. I think this description gives a great picture and sound in your head so you can feel like you can really hear the music.