The Haircut

It was her idea

for him to be standing half naked in front of the bathroom mirror

as

she snipped off a sprig of hair

that’d been bugging her since their 3rd date

he grimaced

and wondered

why they couldn’t just have gone to the movies

she worked to hack away the last 5 months

wanting to locate

the promising roots of a love

that got tangled

by infidelity

his

she cut a few inches off the top

so that his blue eyes were

trained on her now

she took her time around his ears

when she noticed his balled fists

“do you want me to cut anymore off the top?”

he shook his head

“looks good”

he loved her

but she could be stubborn

and unreasonable

like when she scolded him for cheating on her in a dream

and wouldn’t talk to him for three days

off went the sideburns

and he winced

when he saw the white where his tan ended

but she was busy marveling at

a mole the size of a quarter

black as oil

that she’d never before seen

“hello there!”

she said

running her index finger

along its contours

and beaming

like she’d discovered an island

as of yet unclaimed.