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Hair Rules

A Kitchen Prayer

By Judey Kalchik Published a day ago 1 min read
Hair Rules
Photo by Polly Alexandra on Unsplash

Gathering my hair

with my right hand

my left stretches

any one of my

multitude

collection

protection

array of

hair tamers

shamers

restrainers

to subdue strands

and protect consumers

of viands.

It's ingrained

my hair to be restrained

my covering

my glory

inconveniently drifting

where it it ought

not.

rebellious

wild

curling and coiling

subject to the

opinions of all

never smooth

enough

never curled

enough

never long

enough

rough ends

too short

too long

tuck behind

your ears

show off

your face.

Tie it back

cook dinner

hair in the food?

Must be on purpose.

Deliberate defiant

Tied up for your comfort

Tied back to avoid trouble

Tied into knots of compliance

with notes of defiance

and cords of regret.

Mental Health

About the Creator

Judey Kalchik

It's my time to find and use my voice.

Poetry, short stories, memories, and a lot of things I think and wish I'd known a long time ago.

You can also find me on Medium

And please follow me on Threads, too!

Reader insights

Nice work

Very well written. Keep up the good work!

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Comments (4)

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  • A. J. Schoenfeldabout 8 hours ago

    Nicely done, this definitely resonated with me. I feel your hair is an allegory for something deeper. We all most be "perfect" and fit the mold. Yet somehow, no matter how we try, it always seems we fall short in someone's eyes, usually our own. As a woman, I often feel my hair is a symbol of my feminity and mine lives in this crazy mostly curly but somewhat straight, always frizzy, never obedient state that I usually look at, sigh and say, I guess that will do.

  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarranabout 22 hours ago

    Oooo, viand is a new word for me. Loved your poem!

  • Rain Dayzea day ago

    omg yes, I both love and hate my hair!

  • Love it! Wishing my hair wasn't thinning and falling out in spots! I'm working on it! I told the dermatologist after hearing options, that I want my hair until I'm dead, and I don't expect that to be too many more years. So I need to be careful about what I do, after listening to some of her options.😉

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