Poetry Faye Susan

Shorn

If a woman has long hair,             is it her glory?

Eleven measures of auburn; spattered

amputation in enamel sink.

                                                      Let it be gone.

Hair is memento and shroud,                   woven

amicable in milk sap of summer crowns.

         Later, naively primped, for mutilation

                  by lover’s spate and sweaty thunder.

Silkweed brittles,                  split-ended history

unwinding in snarled sheets.

                                                     Let it be gone.

Ties severed with snick of tarnished sheers.

Reshaped edges brush like monarch wings

unlocked in light.                                  Absence

heralds keen awareness: growth made manifest.

There is glory in being shorn.

Faye Susan is a Canadian American poet and writer. Her passion for writing is fueled by her experiences as a queer, autistic woman and her belief in the healing and transformative nature of art. She proudly calls Toronto home and is pursuing a Creative Writing and Publishing degree from Sheridan College.