Max made me wonder how much longer I will have any hair at all
Cheers Patrick
Ps I have been only one to a barber since 1965 learnt to cut my own -(gawd
they say!)
-----Original Message-----
From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Max Richards
Sent: 06 December 2011 21:19
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: snap: in the mirror
In the Mirror
When young, I must have stared
oh heaps of times, prolonged,
concerned how I'd 'present'
to those I hoped to impress.
Better not frown too much,
and not let the eyelids droop.
Later, it was quicker
and mainly about the hair -
could it disguise
the too-prominent ears?
Today, in the swivel chair
at the hairdresser's, glasses off,
by far the oldest client there,
faithful to James for fifteen years,
I'm sad to present to him
such a tatty head of hair.
He's tactful, quick, and
his so-animated chat to me
in the huge mirror
about anything but hair
elicits expression on my face.
And this is how I look, what others see.
The deformations when I laugh!
The foul scowls when I frown!
The contrast in the mirror
with the salon assistants
passing so nubile and sleek!
I say nothing about my neck.
James is aging too - his face,
more expressive always,
is progressing like mine
in its deepening lines.
I wish my hands were as eloquent
as his. His voice rises and declines
musically, dramatically.
He's a listener too, emphatically -
a reminder to me to be true
to the face-to-face, the value
of intent dialogue. All done -
check in the mirror - glasses back on -
instantly face detail reappears -
adding another score to my years.
Max Richards
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