He Cut Off My Long Hair

He Cut Off My Long Hair

He cut off my long hair

said it was too wild, too free

said men stared,

and he was tired of sharing me

He didn’t ask

just grabbed the scissors from the drawer

stood behind me,

smiling like he knew what was coming

The first snip sounded like bone

the rest like punishment

I watched it fall

strand by strand,

my strength in heaps on the floor

Then came the mirror

and the words

now they’ll leave you alone

But they didn’t

so he tried harder

his love turned sharp

his hands became fire

and when my skin told the truth

he said

I fixed your face for good this time

I didn’t cry

he had taken those tears

with the scissors

with the silence

with the way no one came

But I remember

how I looked

before him

He held a hammer

I knew it was to finish me off

I bit him hard

took the hammer he dropped

and finished him

from hurting anyone

ever again

Ugly

but I survived him

The wicked man