PILAR

Some body hair is there within the womb,
Soon gone, but soon replaced by fuzz and ashen
silk: the mane begins. Later the flashy
[Trumpeting] of axillary, pubic

Hedge, then legs and faces, followed by chest
And belly, even back and anal. Color
Divides: a modest red on beard, yellow
Stays on arms, the head is brown. And next

The gradual shift to whiteness. Then the loss:
The thinning–frontal retreat, and now that pelt
Unseen by mirror, only to be felt
And patted, reveals a pate of scalp. And thus,

As Vermont pasture boulders push and conjure
Their way through turf, we achieve a crowning tonsure.

(25, Jakarta, June 14, 1992)

Comments

Babies both with hair, I never knew.

There is hair like moss in our bodies see glycocalyx. It protects the blood vessel walls from the constant rush of blood cells. It is in other places too, like the lining of intestines.

[John Alvord 12/18/2025]