10 September 2013

My Hair






My hair glows
for it is blonde.
From the day I sprouted follicles
I carried a golden hue.
It’s true.  These Aryan looks
(as seen in history books)
make my blue eyes blue.
Not bad for a West Coast Jew
who has an upper hand.
But I never brandish it in spite.
(Just to remind them when I’m right!)

My hair fades.
At fifty, I’ve become a shaded gray.
Had I heeded my father’s warning,
I would have seen this coming.
Age has a nasty way of relegating
us all to the same playing field.
Every patch of gray should yield
a wisdom beyond our years.
But it just makes my ears seem
to protrude a bit more.  Not such
an eyesore to what was in store.

My hair departs
and has become a memory.
Hair today; gone tomorrow!
Such is my sorrow since
my hair on hiatus now takes the color of skin
as in, “Why in the hell didn’t
my father tell me of THIS cruel joke?”
It’s like a craggy jab at my virility!
My pate craves for warmth, instead
I get a buff and polish. Now I shine
despite my stressed tress whine!


© JPW 2013

28 comments:

  1. I smiled through the first stanza, grinned through the second and had started laughing by the third. You did have fun. I like the rhyme play throughout. More fun. Now, I'm going to reread for both the laugh and the rhyme play I may have missed.

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    1. It was an evocative prompt, Margo. Good to look inwardly (or topically) once in a while.

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    1. You made me smile! Enough said! Thank you, Barbara!

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  3. Good fun!! I thought hair to begin with, too...you brought wit and humor well!! Love the closing lines. :)

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    1. Thank you, Hannah! I HAD hair to begin with, so... Glad you stopped by!

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  4. A very clever write. Fun to read, as well as thought-provoking reality!! So many lines made me smile in their truths expressed in such a humorous way. And I say one surely must find a way to laugh about such things as they happen along the way! Two of my favorite lines are:

    Age has a nasty way of relegating
    us all to the same playing field.

    Yup! So true for so many things in life. Sigh.

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    1. Well, we've been throw into this life under the same conditions, it's a shame the field doesn't remain static for us all! But I agree, laughing at our selves is the key to adjusting. That's the funny thing about humor! Thanks for the comments, Mary.

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    1. If we don't laugh at life, we'll be mired in the alternative. I'm not ready to get my shirt wet! ;) Thanks Kathryn.

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  6. ha. luckily i have kept my hair but my beard is def losing its color....which is hereditary.....i like the i never brandish in spite line...ha...cool write...

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    1. Thanks Brian. I know I can count on your encouragement and sense of fun. Never in spite!

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  7. Haha! Oh Vanity, what a cruel end you will have if you judge your worth by splitting hairs over looks. A fun read here!

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    1. There's no splitting hairs at the loss of same, Susan! Fun comes easier if I accept that fact!

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  8. Very well written with so many levels, age is relentless. Well done.

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    1. We're all layered in our own ways, Alan. Age will have to drag me kicking and screaming! Thanks.

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    1. Now, I didn't say I WASN'T stylish, Laurie. It's just that the journey took the scenic route! ;) Thanks for stopping in.

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  10. I have lost nearly all my hair color--thank goodness for hair coloring. But at least I still have hair.

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    1. Sure Peggy, rub it in! ;) Everything is still a precious gift! Thanks for the comment.

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  11. I love this! From one natural hewed oldie to a hairless oldie. The best kind!!!

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    1. Thanks Helen. Yes, it is the best kind!!! Or from a natural hued to a rough hewn oldie, the connection still fits!

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  12. Very clever take on both prompts, and very smile worthy--I was wondering where you were going to go...shine on! :-)

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    1. Better to have lost my hair, than the head it's attached to, Sara! My other choice of topics was my mind... but I didn't feel the need to scare people with my poetry! Thanks for the shine!

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  13. Hair, Hair, Hair. My husband hasn't lost a wink of sleep - he has never even mentioned it other than to say "he noticed it was thinning". I guess he is comfortable who he is. I always find it odd, those men who panic about it - they must have some pretty flakey women by their side. (IMO)

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