My Brother and His Barber

My fussy silver-haired brother
came home neatly trimmed

and told me while
taking down a coffee mug

"My barber makes me nervous
the man unloads
his entire life on me
with every haircut

"He tells me about his bills
the dirty deals
his various wives pulled on him

"child support for kids
who never send him
a birthday card

"He leaves nothing out
takes more time
than I have hair
just to finish his story

"He does know how
to cut my hair
but I would quit him in a heartbeat
if I could find
another barber
half as good"

Notes

McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.