at the salon

relaxing

calm

friendly

chatting

sharing

herbal tea

and

stories

until

he

arrived

full of self

all pomp

and

circumstance

and

said things

to his stylist

like

i’m a writer

for the university

i prefer whiskey

only the finest

you probably

wouldn’t have heard of

the bands i prefer

i had an outing

with a large group

of my friends

this is my first haircut

since i’ve moved here

you should feel honored

and

he was young

and already

so filled up

having to prove something

to the world

and himself

and it went

on and on

so full

of false importance

and then

his patient stylist

opened a door

to get something

and

a head rolled out

and

he looked

and

he shrieked

and

his wall

fell down

just a bit

and the

rest of us

laughed

and

laughed

for a long time

and

the man

was quiet.

—-
avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls,

your ego goes with it.

– colin powell

—

image credits: getty images, flickr