Hair by Max Fatchen

I despair
About hair
With all the fuss
For us
Of snipping 5
And clipping,
Of curling
And twirling,
Of trying
And drying, 10
And lopping
And flopping,
And flurries
And worries,
About strength 15
The length,
As it nears
The ears
Or shoulder.
When you’re older 20
It turns grey
Or goes away
Or leaves a fuzz

Hair does!

The Eagle by Alfred Lord Tennyson

He clasps the crag with crooked hands,
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls,

He watches from his mountain walls, 5
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite by Isaac Watts

Let dogs delight to bark and bite,

For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For 'tis their nature too.
But, children, you should never let 5
Such angry passions rise;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each other's eyes.
Advice to My Son by Peter Meinke
—for Tim

The trick is, to live your days

as if each one may be your last
(for they go fast, and young men lose their lives
in strange and unimaginable ways)
but at the same time, plan long range 5
(for they go slow; if you survive
the shattered windshield and the bursting shell
you will arrive
at our approximation here below
of heaven or hell). 10

To be specific, between the peony and the rose

plant squash and spinach, turnips and tomatoes;
beauty is nectar
and nectar, in a desert, saves—
but the stomach craves stronger sustenance 15
than the honied vine.
Therefore, marry a pretty girl
after seeing her mother;
Show your soul to one man,
work with another; 20
and always serve bread with your wine.

But son,
always serve wine.
Advice to a Girl by Sara Teasdale
No one worth possessing
Can be quite possessed;
Lay that on your heart,
My young angry dear;
This truth, this hard and precious stone, 5
Lay it on your hot cheek,
Let it hide your tear.
Hold it like a crystal
When you are alone
And gaze in the depths of the icy stone. 10
Long, look long and you will be blessed:
No one worth possessing
Can be quite possessed.

Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy (1969)

This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: 5
You have a great big nose and fat legs.

She was healthy, tested intelligent,

possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing. 10
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.

She was advised to play coy,

exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out 15
Like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.
In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, 20
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said.

Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending. 25
Zimmer in Grade School by Paul Zimmer (1983)

In grade school I wondered

Why I had been born
To wrestle in the ashy puddles
With my square nose
Streaming mucus and blood, 5
My knuckles puffed from combat
And the old nun’s ruler.
I feared everything: God,
Learning, and my schoolmates.
I could not count, spell, or read. 10
My report card proclaimed
These scarlet failures.
My parents wrung their loving hands.
My guardian angel wept constantly.

But I could never hide anything. 15

If I peed my pants in class
The puddle was always quickly evident.
My worst mistakes were at
The blackboard for Jesus and all
The saints to see. 20
Even now,
When I hide behind an elaborate mask,
It is always known that I am Zimmer,
The one who does the messy papers
And fractures all his crayons, 25
Who spits upon the radiators
And sits all day in shame
Outside the office of the principal.

Love between Brothers and Sisters by Isaac Watts

 Whatever brawls disturb the street,
There should be peace at home;
Where sisters dwell and brothers meet,
Quarrels should never come.
Birds in their little nests agree; 5
And 'tis a shameful sight,
When children of one family
Fall out and chide and fight.

But You Didn’t by Meril Glass

Remember the time you lent me your car and I dented it?
I thought you’d kill me …
But you didn’t.

Remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was

formal, and you came in jeans? 5
I thought you’d hate me …
But you didn’t.

Remember the times I’d flirt with

other boys just to make you jealous, and
you were? 10
I thought you’d drop me …
But you didn’t.

There were plenty of things you did put up with me,

to keep me happy, to love me, and there are
so many things I wanted to tell 15
you when you returned from
Vietnam …
But you didn’t.