Cowlick

By Lara Delmage

She’d get migraines 

the kind that pulse

white

noise that thumps

behind the eyes

She smothered it with painkillers

lavender / peppermint / yoga / sex / chamomile / dirt / laughter / meat / thirst / sleep

A war of attrition (both sides dull but never subside)

She stares hard

in the mirror

(if you’re the problem, then you’re the cure, too?)

She licks her hand

smooths her cowlick down

(genetic in humans, pick of the litter)

She looks harder, closer

into the pain

nose touching the glass

and sees a faint wriggling

silkworms writhing under her skin

she follows as they 

slink single file to the very point

where her hairline changes

and follicles stick upwards

Droplets building to

a wave

She presses the parasite

in place 

as it bites white hot 

she feels for scissors 

and cuts the cowlick clean off

The hairs writhe in the basin

Geko tails cut loose 

(while the real prey escapes)

She scoops them up

careful to catch every last strand

slides them into a crisp white envelope

Lick stamp post

He licks his hand

Smooths his cowlick down

Picks up the letter

(Another one)

Slices it open

His follicles mourn

The resemblance.

The headache

Returns to the host.