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Vanity Falls
I’m feeling a little lightheaded;
I’ll confess it’s what I’ve always dreaded:
More hairs on the floor
Than ever before,
My ego and vanity shredded.
.
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Miera Rao is a writer living in California who has won awards for her creative non-fiction and poetry. Her short stories have been published by the Sand Hill Review Press, in the award-winning Fault Zone anthology series, and Flash Fiction Magazine. An Etiquette Trainer at Top Form Academy, Rao is eagerly looking forward to launching her non-fiction book “Crushing Etiquette” soon.
I remember taking an exam in college. After looking up to ponder the question, I looked down upon the page to answer it. There, against the white of the paper, were several strands of my thinning hair. That triggered an exodus! My hair fled from the prison of my scalp, never to return again. Some blame testosterone but I plan that exam!
There is nothing that strips a man’s vanity like balding, this is especially true when it occurs in your early twenties. Now that I’m in my mid-forties, I am finally aging into my hairdo.
Thanks for the poem, though it triggered this traumatic memory. But that is what poetry is supposed to do, elicit emotion. I look forward to reading Crushing Etiquette.
Thank you for sharing, Michael. Your recollection did bring back some of my own exam nightmares – well after school- and college-going years! Exams are indeed traumatic! Thank you also for your encouraging comment on my upcoming book. If you would like to be be notified, I would love to keep you posted.
I have no doubt most of us can relate and you are right, it’s the vanity that must join the hairs.
Thank you, jd, for your comment. 🙂
Nice poem that gets right to the root of the issue.
Thank you, Russell. That gave me a chuckle. 🙂
Nicely rhymed, humorous little piece that highlights one of the sobering truths about the aging process. Both hairlines and waistlines yield to gravity.
Thank you, John. Alas, gravity wins every time. 🙂
Hair today, gone tomorrow! We rue
that time when our hair strands grow few.
But savings on grooming
can help stop you fuming
while bidding your tresses adieu.
Love your limerick, Miero. I’m rather a fan of limericks.
Thanks for the read.
Glad you liked the limerick, Paul. I, in turn, enjoyed your limerick-al response. 🙂
Thank you for this delightful poem I can very much relate to…Allegra
Pleased to hear that you liked the limerick, Allegra. Thank you. 🙂