Adolescence is one part recklessness, two parts pretense

This is what long hair is for.

i will leave it loose for you,

even though it sticks to my neck

in thick summer air. and you can make

lots of tiny fairy braids

in it.

but you want

to see it shudder, rinse, roll in shimmering shockwaves, around, around,

like the circus-colored top spinning on the table, tiny swirls

blending and blending, like the

teacup rides (we are children) twirling wild frantic pirouettes

(if you don't scream it's ruined: don't be brave, fear is part of it, fear is all of it)

lights pouring down, glimmering, i am shining i am shining

i am hurting take me home

shifting, it is politics, it is angst, it is understanding, it is "I know what it is to feel the guilt of his death"… it is:

one being, all the tiny strands together like the

surface of a

mirror. yes, there you are

but it is only hair!

it is only hair.