The division of before/after
begins again: indoor/outdoor,

the backyard wild with weeds,
the hum of clippers angling along

the overgrown lawn of my husband’s scalp.
Our child/adult, too young to remember 9/11,

refuses fear, keeps his eye and hand steady.
Gray locks float happily down,

settle on a patio that has no memory
of before and why. Now, the student/

turned barber adjusts the razor, circles an ear,
without hesitation, steers confidently

to mitigate the proliferation of beard.
Under the sharp blade of the vibrator,

my husband relaxes,
calmly exposes his neck.

– previously published in MER VOX