The Ritual of Washing Hair

[Written 8 April 2007]

she is often told
by mama, by inang
that it is her greatest asset
like the river it should
flow down to her shoulders
uninterrupted,
light should create
rippes, and
the glints should dance
like fireflies

use it to enchant a man,
they coax her,
but do not return his gaze.
he will go mad
at the possibility
of the touch and scent of it -
he will not forget you...
use it with utmost humility
so your envious friends
will not wish ill upon you
and celebrate with you
when you marry a rich man
and leave this place

she remembers it all,
chants it to herself
like a carefully constructed prayer
when water intertwines
with her fingers
in her hair
covering her body reverentially
like scented oil, the droplets
only lingering just so,
before they are overpowered
by the chilliness of her skin

she marvels at its weight:
her entire being concentrated
in a seamless weaving
of follicles and skin


it is the only nakedness
that she permits.