Metempsychosis

Last

Year's

Past

I walked into a salon and told a beautician:

Can you cut 

ALL

 My hair off?

The instance 
Said words were spoken

I was greeted by several looks of

 Abstruseness 

Having to reassure
 I wasn't referring to a trim

Nor the desire for it to be curled or styled

Simply.....Cut....It....Off

Awaiting

 The

Irreversible

I overheard someone whisper: 

She probably just  broke up with her man

And wants a

"New look"

But BALD?!?!


Despite
The stylists 
Dismay


Amid


A Lion's Den of speculation
Riddled
With obtrude laughter


I went forth with my demand 


Within an hours time
What was once upon my head
Was placed

 In the palm of my hand....

~*October 6, 2010




I retrogressed infancy
Through the eradication of my
Hair follicles 


As with various stages in life


To grow
Is
Pain...


This is the first time
I willingly
Inflicted it on


Myself

The Journey Beings

During the first days/weeks on this path

Countless individuals asked me

WHY?!?!

Some would gawk at my head 

While those who felt inclined 

To touch my scalp

Would either cringe

Shake their head 

Or looked at me disgustedly 

I truly wasn't prepared
For the aforementioned
 Onslaught

 Certain persons stopped speaking to me
While  others avoided me in public
Embarrassed by my emergence

If I were to state: the reactions I received

From family & friends didn't make me self conscious

 Would be deceitful

Within 30-90 days of my decision

I was introduced 

To an aspect of my nature

Previously latent

Encumbered 

Striving to surpass

 The shallowness 

Of my ego 

It was imperative to delve beneath 

What I felt 

In the presence of others

 Finding the source 

That made me uncomfortably aware 

Of another's gaze

Ironically

It made the concept
Of a song
Frequently heard

Conceivable
By way of
 Endurance




Does the way I wear my hair 
Make me a better person?


Does the way I wear my hair 
Make me a better friend?


Does the way I wear my hair 
Determine my integrity?


I am expressing my creativity...

Intrinsically 

I am in tune 

With the depths of my being

Extrinsically
 I had to assimilate how I'm depicted
By the eye

 Unseen

Scrutinizing
Polar
Entities

I accessed understanding 

Of

The Sameness

Manipulated appearance(s)
The world deems
 Attractiveness 

Attesting 

 The differences of

Replication

 Inadvertently
Damaged

Deterrent

Cultivation....

In the process of my realization
Of painstakingly generational
Domestication

I was born again:

Seeing my outwardly reflection for the first time
Returning to a congenital state
Such as the date light first greeted my eyes

In innocence I cried


Bequest an unknown world
Breathing the breath of life's possibilities
And lessons learned through peril


 Indoctrinated to monstrosity
Immeasurable philosophies
Duplicitous monotony


Reciprocally

A revolutionary spirit
Spewing information
 Known to pierce


Betwixt
Reciprocity
Telling other's of their ancestral history


Edification - Awakening - Elevation
 Precedence towards
The affirmation:

Know Thyself


October sixth, two thousand ten
Signifies my
Rebirth


The demise of being a contradiction
Of my words
via my mane...


Exemplifying my stance
I'll reverberate the words
I used to begin:


As with various stages in life


To grow
Is 
Pain...


This is the first time
I willingly
Inflicted it on 


Myself:


Undeniable 


Maturation


Physical - Mental - Spiritual


Manifestation


Coily kinks
Are the paint
My hair is the canvas

I  am deprogrammed

© LaToya S. C.

 Indigenous...
 Not what the main stream
 Image is

Natural Hair
Is My
Heritage


***

Dedicated to :

Monique C.

Through your  silence, which is your strength

You've inspired me to collectively

Embrace self

 THANK YOU!

P.ositive E.nergy A.ctivates C.onstant E.levation