Below is a poem my friend Maya Stein wrote a couple weeks ago. What I love so much is that Maya saw something I didn't see. She unearthed a poem from what I thought was an ordinary moment. And thus, that moment became something more. Something other. Something extraordinary. How can we (poets or not) do this for one another in life?

 

Sherry’s haircut

We’re in my kitchen at 9 o’clock on a Monday night.
She’s brought a photo, some Parisian beauty with a high bob.
“I want to look like her,” Sherry says, but it’s not
really the hair she’s after. It’s not even the wardrobe,
the casual sling of her dress, high boots flirting with her knees.
Sherry puts a hand on her hip, just like the woman in the picture,
pinches her lips a few degrees.
And there, I see it. She wants release, freedom, a cure
to wipe out loss and fear. Some way to keep her grip from slipping.
There’s no haircut big enough for this, but I get my scissors, and start snipping.

 

This poem was reprinted with permission from Maya Stein. You can subscribe to her 10-line Tuesday poetry emails or check 'em out on her blog. You can also read more of her poetry here.

(P.S. I still wish I looked like that gal in the newspaper clipping!!!)