Dear friends,
Here’s a small gift from me to you. I wrote this poem in June when I went for my first haircut (on Pondfield Road) after almost absolute quarantine during Covid’s bitter flare up in New York. We are still living in fearful times. I hope the poem makes you smile.
There are so many things that make me hopeful. More on that at our next meet. Let’s look towards the light. To a better 2021!
the salon
on Pondfield
the salon on
Pondfield was calm I was
greeted by the gun testing my
temperament temperature handed
a gown wrapped in plastic black New
York black hair washers rinsers cutters
colorists black gowns tailored black masks
three quarter plastic visors over that matching
with curved edges where is the aluminum bucket
with b o b b i n g apples the trick-or-treat sacs the
h y s t e r i a the politicians’ rubber faces of fright the
orange w ig the broom instead the balding head kind
eyes tender talking voice By Mark pieces of me pierced
ears naked eye glasses fiber mask bulls-eye noting the
b i g b l o u s y b a l l o f b r o w n h a I r
celebrating this escapade understanding the
jubilation that maybe needed a certain
civilizing in that calming voice
do we
let go
or do
we
p
r
u
n
e
?