I want a haircut that can win a bar fight.
aaaaaaaI want a haircut that will
throw my things on the lawn so I can finally
aaaaaaaget out of here. A gale is tearing
aaaaaaaat all the shutters on this house
and I want a haircut that feels like that
howling. I need everyone to know
aaaaaaaI’m coming for them
because I have nothing left to lose.
I’m tossing the glass jars on my vanity
aaaaaaaand the plastic comb I drag
across my scalp. Because we all expect
aaaaaaato grow old and soft
and too many people I love just won’t.
aaaaaaaI want a haircut that can stop time
so I can give myself one more hello
aaaaaaafrom her, one more of everything
before she climbs into the car
aaaaaaathat will not make it back.
There is money in my wallet
aaaaaaaand I want a haircut that will raise
an army. If it worked for that girl
aaaaaaaand her ships, it can work for me.
I want a haircut that can bring down a plague
aaaaaaaand settle a bet.
That can write its own love sonnet
and pitch a script. I’m so tired
aaaaaaaof having this face, boring
aaaaaaaas a faucet. Where’s the pizazz?
I want so much more than what I’m getting,
aaaaaaamy fury bursts like a galaxy.
I want a haircut that will call God’s bluff
Christina Stoddard is the author of Hive, which was selected by Lucia Perillo for the 2015 Brittingham Prize in Poetry (University of Wisconsin Press). Christina’s poems have appeared in various journals including storySouth, DIAGRAM, and Spoon River Poetry Review. Originally from Tacoma, WA, Christina received her MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she was the Fred Chappell Fellow. Christina is an Associate Editor at Tupelo Quarterly and a Contributing Editor at Cave Wall. She currently lives in Nashville, TN where she is the Managing Editor of a scholarly journal in economics and decision theory.