Sep 11
THE OPENING OF THE HAIR
my crying
short cropped little girl
all slobber, snuffles and snot
hair cut off
because of a school lice infection
sobs her heart out
"I can't open my hair
I want to open
my hair like Mummy!"
Mummy trots in
with her high ponytail
let's lose her flowing locks
tresses cascading
over shoulders with
an almost audible splash
a red river runs
down her back
the effect is wondrous
as if the hair sang
its heart out a madrigal
a little ordinary miracle
mummy takes her
dressmaker's scissors
cuts jaggedly her magic hair
as if breaking a spell
a crescendo
of clips and snips
a red river
weeps
at her feet
Tilly gasps
in awed
astonishment
my crying
short-cropped
little girl
my crying short-cropped woman
both so
uncannily alike
now even more so
"Me and you Tilly
me and you
will grow our hair
together
and when we've done
we will open our hair
and let it down
for daddy!"
*
My little girl loved watching her mother let down her hair or put it up. So did I as it happens...she had a red river of hair that flowed down her back and it was a wonder of our world to see the hair fall so gracefully as if it were an alive thing. A magical creature.
Tilly used to call this action...the opening of the hair as if it was a wonderful ceremony. She came up with it herself and it was only much much later when engaged in Shakespeare studies that I actually found it was an Elizabethan expression. The other expression I found was a "cup of news!" So here is my cup of news!
When the lice infection struck Tilly had to lose her hair and was distraught. She just sobbed and sobbed to lose her golden curls so that Queen Mummy took drastic action and sayeth; "Off with my hair!" And so she sacrificed her glorious hair for the sake of her little one. It was like an Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. When I came home to this solution I also cut off all my hair. And so we were as one. I took a Polaroid of all us baldy one and placed it next to a photo of us in our glorious hairy day.s The family that goes bald together...stays together. All for one and one for all. Tilly was delighted now with our new fashion statement and glad not to be the only one.
It was quite a while before the "opening of the hair' ceremony could be held once more.
my crying
short cropped little girl
all slobber, snuffles and snot
hair cut off
because of a school lice infection
sobs her heart out
"I can't open my hair
I want to open
my hair like Mummy!"
Mummy trots in
with her high ponytail
let's lose her flowing locks
tresses cascading
over shoulders with
an almost audible splash
a red river runs
down her back
the effect is wondrous
as if the hair sang
its heart out a madrigal
a little ordinary miracle
mummy takes her
dressmaker's scissors
cuts jaggedly her magic hair
as if breaking a spell
a crescendo
of clips and snips
a red river
weeps
at her feet
Tilly gasps
in awed
astonishment
my crying
short-cropped
little girl
my crying short-cropped woman
both so
uncannily alike
now even more so
"Me and you Tilly
me and you
will grow our hair
together
and when we've done
we will open our hair
and let it down
for daddy!"
*
My little girl loved watching her mother let down her hair or put it up. So did I as it happens...she had a red river of hair that flowed down her back and it was a wonder of our world to see the hair fall so gracefully as if it were an alive thing. A magical creature.
Tilly used to call this action...the opening of the hair as if it was a wonderful ceremony. She came up with it herself and it was only much much later when engaged in Shakespeare studies that I actually found it was an Elizabethan expression. The other expression I found was a "cup of news!" So here is my cup of news!
When the lice infection struck Tilly had to lose her hair and was distraught. She just sobbed and sobbed to lose her golden curls so that Queen Mummy took drastic action and sayeth; "Off with my hair!" And so she sacrificed her glorious hair for the sake of her little one. It was like an Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. When I came home to this solution I also cut off all my hair. And so we were as one. I took a Polaroid of all us baldy one and placed it next to a photo of us in our glorious hairy day.s The family that goes bald together...stays together. All for one and one for all. Tilly was delighted now with our new fashion statement and glad not to be the only one.
It was quite a while before the "opening of the hair' ceremony could be held once more.
