I Am Not 20

but I’m not 100 either.
I refuse to conform to convention,
let my hair stay steel-blotchy grey,
cut it sensible short to appease people
I barely know and me be miserable.
I won’t.
My hair is purple, parts are lavender,
strips are grape, sections are plum,
it’s long, it’s purple, it’s the most fun
I’ve had in years.

I’m stopped at least once every day,
supermarket, post office, on line
anywhere, everywhere and someone,
sometimes male, mostly female,
will say they like it / love it / wish
they could do it but spouse / mother
father / brother / sister / aunt / uncle
grandparents would never allow it.

I feel bad for them, they’re missing out.
And no, it’s not bad for my hair. Oh
contraire, it’s conditioner, no peroxide,
no developer, no chemicals to weaken /
strip / dry out / damage my hair.
It won’t.
Conditioner. Leave it in 5 minutes
or 5 hours; it doesn’t matter. Package
says it lasts 40 to 60 washes but I add to it,
change shades often so it never washes out.

When my husband is with me and someone
ooh and ahhs, he says thank you. They look
at him, quizzical, his hair turning a gradual grey,
not a drop of purple in it. He chuckles, reveals
that he does it for me. We all laugh. I tell them
the first time he did it, he didn’t heed my warning,
didn’t wear gloves, telling me it would wash off.
It didn’t.
Easy, fun, and my hair is in the best shape ever.
Some say it’s a leftover pandemic whim, some
call it daring hair, others whisper it’s clutching
onto my youth. No, none of those. Others
cluck that I’ll tire of it and what then. Well,
I could strip it. Easy peasy, but I don’t want to.
I won’t.

New shades from lilac to lavender,
orchid to deep purple come out every month
and I can barely wait to try them. It’s purple hair.
Get used to it, I’m keeping it.

~ J R Turek Hour 10