it's easier now, so much

i used to carry

a small black comb in my back pocket.
my thick brown hair

was slicked down with brylcreme.
parted on the side

not unlike
wally and the beaver.

i would look at my reflection
in the toaster

on my mother's linoleum
kitchen table

and try to pat down the cow lick
that

kept popping up.
i'd take out my comb
and go at it,

trying to eep it all straight,
side to
side, the back.

that even line of a part.
it was a lot of work

with all that hair, not to mention
the shoulder
length locks

in the teenage years. but

it's so much easier now.
so much.