The Art Of Brushing Her Hair (Reprint)

I have had the luxury
of sitting behind her
and brushing her hair at around 8pm
for the past eleven years

Almost every night
I bring out her old Goody brush
and she lets her hair down
because I still don’t know how to work
the barrette loose

When it started so long ago
I was impatient
a young man that wanted to get it done
to get it done right

But as the years passed
and we have both aged
I began to realize that brushing her hair
calmed me
I slowly began taking more time
making sure that the brush
passed over each part
of that beautiful head

Now I see a gray hair
every once in a while
and it only gets better
that short time with her
because I know that
our time here is very short

I’m grateful
she has let me apprentice in this art
for so long

I’m closer to mastery every day

If I end up going blind
it will be all right
I won’t need to see the product of my work
and when my fingers curl with arthritis
it won’t matter

Because she will
always pull
the barrette
loose
for
me

[The Art Of Brushing Her Hair was originally published on Knife Gun Pen on 15 August 2005]