Hard Drive Haircut

First day out of school Chanute Kansas 1963
Thirteen year old given money
Looks perplexed
Get your haircut on the way home
Make sure you get a buck and a quarters worth
Which meant the military buzz cut where
The Barber makes out like a fat rat
There is some pushback
Because of meeting girls at the movies
It’s Friday night, time to party
No dice, get it buzzed
There is no argument from that point on,

First day of basic training Fort Leonard Wood 1969
How did you want that cut, troop?
Long sideburns, leave some on the top, blocked in back?
No problem as the shears bite into the flesh next to the skull
Blood runs on the temples, boils in the brain
There you go, you look a lot better now
Nose and ears look grotesque, eyes bulge under
Horn rim glasses that look like insect eyes
The drill sergeant in the Smoky hat laughs
Get outside, hambone, get outside, jarhead
There is no argument from that point on

First day back in basecamp Cu Chi Vietnam 1970
Coming back from the boonies
Barbershop is the first stop
Vietnamese barbers practice cultural integration
By working at the P X, humping mortars at night
Holding straight razor to the throat, laughing
Then lightly shaving the sideburns and neck
Captain in the next chair over has his 45 ACP
On his lap, finger in the finger guard just in case
The Barber makes a mistake
Watch out with that razor he tells him
There is no argument from that point on

First day of Summer Olathe Kansas 2011
Leaving work early, Solstice at twelve sixteen
Wondering about who shaves the Barber
In this case, Mary, who checks her computer
Last time you were here was six months ago
Make an appointment for six months from now
Fingers fidget under the Barber’s drape
Silver gray hair falls to the floor.