I.

Burning rays
smoldering days
dreams of other ways
we may in time
find a line
that draws so fine.

If April is the cruelest month
then surely is summer
the cruelest season of all

Long hair is a cruelty
that summer makes go
the necessity of cutting,
shearing,
shaving
is utmost and incessant

To shear my locks
and define my cuts
a shape is like a moment
frozen in time – for all to see.

II.

Roberta cried, “Oh let me get
a cool summer cut! Let me chop
off my locks
and get a buzzcut!
Just like my brother does!”

Her mother smiled, “Oh, no dear
that’s not for you!
Young girls ought to have
a flowing mane
of beautiful hair!”

It was Roberta’s chance to sigh
“Why? Oh why?
Life is so unfair
I want to cut off my hair
and leave a summer cut there.”

Mother shook her head,
“There are some things
better off unsaid
Now run along –
and make your bed
Stop dreaming of having
a buzzed head.”

Roberta could not stop herself
or the feelings she felt inside
the next day was hotter still
and Roberta found an iron will.

She marched down to town
to get her hair clippered off
She would show her mother
she, and her hair, was better – off!

A short pair of clippers and
little bit of hair gel
Roberta knew Mom would be angry
but for her it would be swell!

So she approached the barber
with a mischievous glint in her eye
she asked the young man
to clip her hair and let it fly!

With carefully measured breaths
she mustered up the will
she asked for a crew cut, a summer cut
to leave her hair – just a frill!

III.

Dressed like a boy
she did deceive
the very man who took clippers
and her hair soon was to leave!

As the metal blades whirred
and the cold steel pressed
she began to feel a weight
get released from her chest.

She felt the clippers march
through a dense jungle of hair
she marvelled how cool it felt
not to have much hair!

The barber seemed to think
that she needed it very short
“Boys don’t grow it out like that!”
was his cynical retort.

He clippered the back so close,
close to her skin
she began to get cold feet
and wondered how this began!

A cold and lustrous air
soon flowed around her neck
she had already gone this far
so she figured, ‘what the heck!’

The clippers marched, the tresses tumbled
she smiled wider and wider each pass
she looked for all the world to see
like she wanted this to last!

She felt a warm glow fill her hands
and the seat became inviting and warm
she knew the icy chill on her neck
would bring her mother’s storm.

The clippers rounded the sides
and Roberta saw her hair – it was falling away!
it looked like a blissful brown waterfall
and the bristles – they blew her away!

It’s not the shortness, she thought
or the fact I’ll look like a boy
It’s the whole experience of a buzz
that I will most enjoy!

Roberta’s smile got ever wider
as she saw the hair falling away
like the way the sun will set
at the close of torrid day.

More and more tresses fell
with the chattering of those teeth
Roberta saw her own bristly hair
and the skin that was hiding underneath!

The man worked so fast,
she could hardly believe
that her summer cut was emerging
quickly and without reprieve!

Where before she had felt
tense, nervous and unsure
now she knew she’d have one again
her long tresses were no more!

The barber pulled her head back
and started to shear the crown
she saw the long locks of hair
sliding and falling down.

Her mane of soft, silky hair
was disappearing – so little remained!
She felt a pang of fear
she was effectively “de-maned”!

The barber pulled the clippers through
and short stubble was all that was there
her hair was so incredibly short
she could feel the moving air!

Still, the barber plowed
through the golden brown fields
of Roberta’s remaining tresses
oh, the cropped head they would yield!

As the barber finished his clip
she saw the very short hair
she rubbed the bristle with glee
she had lost almost all her hair!

She giggled as he rubbed in some gel
to “make it stand more on end” he said
and she heard him explain
how to keep it looking sharp on her head

“A trim every two weeks
would just about do,” said he.
“You’ll want to keep it trimmed, young man
because it will look really sharp and free.”

She thanked him profusely and smiled
rubbing her hand over her head so many times
the barber took her money
and gave her one of his big smiles.

“Enjoy it,” he cried. “It looks very cool!
In hot weather like this, it helps a lot!”
“Thanks mister, for cutting a girl’s hair
so very short, when it is so very hot!”

IV.

Mother cried and shouted and raved
about how her daughter’s head was ‘shaved’
she was so upset to see
very little hair on Roberta’s head!

Roberta’s father was naturally concerned
but said that it saved on haircuts
“Except,” as Roberta thought, “if I get it
cut at least once a month!”

She faced her mother and she did not die
like she thought that she might
she felt so much cooler
with her awesome “high and tight”

So the summer cut came to Roberta
and she felt so very relieved
even though it was a boy’s haircut
she loved it and the way it feels.

She kept it short, while the days were hot
and her mother tried to hold her back
she kept saying that it was wrong
but she could not hear,
could not understand
that the clippers sang Roberta’s song!