my hair

my hair falls like clumps of tears

ready to be set free,

like chains held over my head.

i tied my hair into knots

of familial expectations,

the knot’s been untied,

and the cage has opened

letting me out

of a decade-long penance.

my hair doesn’t feel like a weight

over my head, sinking myself down,

it’s light as a feather,

it feels so much better

to be free from the cage

my hair held me in my entire life.

    April 19, 2025

    just before prom