I was first introduced to this poison at the tender age of 3
and my mother unknowingly...
applied it atop my crown to thin out that which dressed thee
my hair was way too much for her handle, or was it, really?
truth be told in present she "really" didn't want to bother
and I knew no better than she did, for I dreaded the combing of my mane
it was thick, bushy, curly and always insanely tangled
like vines that twine and grow in a not so uniformed fashion
and before this poison was introduced to me
little girls in day care had their minds fastened...
on making it their mission to make me ashamed of my bush
and I, a little ignorant black girl, not knowing any better
took my daily walk of shame down that center aisle
and from one stretch of the room to the other I swear it felt like walking 10 miles.. and then some
and had I known then that when I turned 8 years old, everything that poison touched would wither and die
die, like I wish I had when those chemical burns engulfed my scalp
like California wild fires feasting on middle class residences
but even after that I had a standing appointment with a hair dresser
who's hair was much lesser than mine.. blind!
the tint in my eyes was so heavy that it could not have been less than 6%
me thinking that beauty could be attained with a comb and yellow bucket with purple writing that housed a white cream
was unconscious...
me thinking that beauty could be attained with a comb and yellow bucket with purple writing that housed a white cream
was senseless, idiotic, and superficial
me thinking that beauty could be attained with a comb and yellow bucket with purple writing that housed a white cream
a cream that made other little girls scream and squirm in those beauty shop chairs
yet in my benighted state I felt lucky because when administered "perms" only made my head itch