A friend sent us this remarkable hair-do —the penultimate beehive— knowing that we consider hair to be a uniquely expressive material. (It came from The Alternative Hair Show held in Moscow in 2011).
Its strange poetry made us curious about poems about hair. We found some powerful ones to pair with our favorite hair styles. They remind us of the meaning and possibilities, both creative and metaphysical, of the mysterious fiber that rides atop our heads.
Perhaps the most astonishing, nuanced and deeply moving poem is Emily Dickinson’s Crisis is a Hair.
(Read out loud, then wait a moment):
Crisis is a Hair
Toward which the forces creep
Past which forces retrograde
If it come in sleepTo suspend the Breath
Is the most we can
Ignorant is it Life or Death
Nicely balancing.Let an instant push
Or an Atom press
Or a Circle hesitate
In CircumferenceIt—may jolt the Hand
That adjusts the Hair
That secures Eternity
From presenting—Here—
Poet Dónall Dempsey helped us understand The Ying & Yang Of Her Hair:
One day I tell her
I love her hairup.
Another day I tell her
I like her hairdown.
“Which is it? ”
She frowns“Up
or
down! ”“Ah…”
I say“Either
or neither! ”“I love your hair
up
in that it can
come downsplash all over me.”
“And I love your hair down
in that it can be
put up
in a cathedral of curls! ”“I love the one
becoming the other…the process of
becoming! ”You leave the room
only to returnwith one side up
& one side down.I laugh.
“Not quite what
I had intended.You throw yourself
into my laplet your hair
waterfall
all over me& I
drown… drown
That ying and yang is apparent in the wildly innovative sculpture/do’s of Nigerian women photographed by J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere
…and others
…
…
Hair is heaven’s water flowing eerily over us
Often a woman drifts off down her long hair and is lost
With thanks to Chris Eldredge for shooting a life-affirming ‘do’ (among other wonders), into our Inbox.
If that’s the penultimate beehive, imagine what the ultimate beehive must look like!