hands in my hair

I wake up
I ruffle my hair
It has been growing out
Since my last hair cut
In late January

I stand
I ruffle my hair
Sleeping has caused it
To stick out at weird angles
And resemble Beakman’s doo

I put my bagel in the toaster oven
I ruffle my hair
While waiting for my bagel to toast
And sigh in impatience
And hunger

I sit down at my tablet
I ruffle my hair
Trying to shake the sleep from my brain
Remember what it is I need to do today
And ease sensory needs

I lean over my work
Both hands ruffle my hair
In times of stress
My fingers rub through my mane
Trying to will my brain into calm

I sit in my recliner
I ruffle my hair slowly
With one hand
At last
My brain can rest

I turn out the lights
I ruffle my hair
Lay down on the pillows
Burrow into the covers
And finally fall asleep

One thought on “hands in my hair

  1. Awww! I love this poem! I love the concept, I love the rhythm, I love that it covers the timespan of a whole day. I also find the repetition of hair ruffling to be very unique. Great job! The last stanza is definitely my favorite <3
    I especially love this line: “I ruffle my hair Trying to shake the sleep from my brain”!
    My only suggestion is to keep the repeated phrase as “I ruffle my hair” instead of adding more details, as you do in two of the stanzas. I think that’ll help keep the rhythm and cadence more regular. Or, if you don’t want to do that, I would suggest adding in more details to the line in other stanzas, as well, so the additions don’t just happen in a latter two.

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