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3rd November, 2023

Friday Poem – ‘The Copenhagen Hair Salon’ by Lynne Hjelmgaard

A wooden hairbrush laying on a grey worktop

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘The Copenhagen Hair Salon’ by Lynne Hjelmgaard from her new collection The Turpentine Tree.

The Copenhagen Hair Salon
for Berith
When she was old enough to slowpoke around me
in her small red Danish clogs, we’d play beauty parlour.
I was her willing subject and happily sat on the floor.
She’d fuss over my long dark hair, throw a hand mirror
and magazines onto my lap so I could follow
her inventions and entertain myself
as she brushed my hair to remove tangles, rearranged it
in elegant styles; piling it on top of my head or
roughly, not intentionally, pulling it away from my face.
She’d talk with other imaginary customers in the room
in her newly-formed language; at times in a whispering voice
I found so comforting – I’d fight to stay awake.
This dreamy state of beauty and curls I could instantly partake in.
In Danish, her two year old vocabulary sounded so sensible.
Her mutterings and sighs contained an abundance of power
drawing me in - in to all the places I’ve never been
and always wanted to go;
her will stronger – more mine than mine.

Don’t forget that Lynne will be launching The Turpentine Tree alongside Kathryn Gray and Sue Hubbard next Tuesday 7th November at St John’s Waterloo in London. Readings start at 6:30pm. All welcome.

Joint book launch. Lynne Hjelmgaard, Kathryn Gray & Sue Hubbard. Tuesday 7th November. From 6:30pm. Free entry. All welcome. St John's Waterloo, 73 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8TY.