Oh my god! Is this your real hair?
That question I get after a long innocent stare,
The question I get that if I was them I wouldn’t dare
To ask
Or to reach over here
For my hair with your dirty little hands;
Don’t touch my hair
So did you straighten it or something?
Yes. I straightened my 2 inch coarse afro
And managed to make these 16 inch locs grow,
It’s from my scalp didn’t you know?
But these curls aren’t to grab they’re just for show;
Don’t touch my hair
No. It’s a weave. This isn’t my natural hair.
Oh okay, so it’s a wig?
Well, the word wig was never mentioned
You don’t know anything so why make the assumption
That these bunches on my head are another kind of extension
To the one that I mentioned
Pay attention and listen!
When I explain to you with my mouth, and you try to reach out;
Don’t touch my hair
It’s hard to not get annoyed
When you’re made a spectacle, a toy
Affront every girl and boy
When you try desperately to avoid
The topic
of your hair
“They’re ignorant”
“They don’t know better”
“They don’t understand”
But I won't let her touch my hair
These are my edges.
I’m not bald headed.
Her hair's braided not dreaded.
Now do not forget it
That perms are so dreaded.
They’re harmful but fuck it
It’s way worth the credit to have
pretty hair
Senegalese twists
Cornrows
Wig
Weave
Afro
Lace front
Bundle
This vocabulary is spectacular
But it’s just my vernacular
Like my hair type
Kinky
Curly
4C
3C
2C
Can’t see why we must focus on me
Don’t worry,
I’ll let it slide this time,
Don’t touch my fucking hair, please.
As seen in Platform Magazine Edition 3
Winner of Kingston University Creative and Professional Writing Competition
Cover image from article: The Picasso of Ponytails? Meet Laetitia Ky, an Ivory Coast-Based Artist Who Makes Unbelievably Inventive Sculptures With Her Hair