FISHTAIL JILL PAJKA

​

helpful you say i could help you

like hands in your hair braiding 

those little girl pigtails french 

 

let me help you.
you don’t need to hold those handfuls 

on your own 

 

let it be my fingers spidering 

the untangled chosen,
the separate rest. you sitting 

 

eyes forward, bracing, breathing. 

isn’t it hard, you say

doing that on your own?

 

weaving, feeling, intertwining 

making decisions blindly, your fingertips buried,
pupils rolling up in the mirror unable 

 

to see the back of your own head, 

your crooked part, the missing 

pieces left behind, nesting into knots?

 

you point, you say your forearms 

hold your hands up in less than equal 

greater than equal symbols to your skull 

 

your chin 

    your face 

        your ears 

            your hair  

                redo 

            redo 

        redo

    redo

redo

​

then, this will have to do, your hair is always

a mess you say but contained 

in a braided tangle twist 

 

pretending it’s intentional 

you say, we all see it, we let it happen 

but i can make it smooth 

 

i could help you, please let me 

i want to braid you a fishtail