Sunday Shine* { Afro/kinetic }

I've been talking about it since November.

For the first time in eight years, I want a new hairstyle.

Quick hairstory:
1982-1990: My hair was pressed with a hot comb and braided or twisted, or washed and pulled into afro puffs
1990 - 1996: I wore extensions, in box braids or cornrows, and experienced the joys of a ponytail like all my white friends. The best part, though, was taking out the braids and seeing all that healthy new growth.
1996: I had a perm, that I rolled and set. Had no patience for that. And those chemicals forever changed the texture of my hair. It lost its softness.
1997-present: I've worn my hair in a natural afro of varying lengths (the longest was about 6 inches) or I've just shaved it off every other month.

For a whole bunch of reasons, I've been putting off going to my barber since November. Time for something new. My hair grows fast and it's very coarse, thick, and doesn't take well to most conditioning treatments. The winter is rough. On the weekends, I just deep condition it olive oil, coconut oil or jojoba oil, with some tea tree & rosemary essential oils for good measure. I spritz it throughout the week with Giovanni's Leave-In Conditioner or put some hemp & neem shea butter on my scalp. Easy? Yes. And short hair suits me. But I'm bored.

I remember that my hair was protected from the summer sun when I wore it in cornrowed extensions. So I'm thinking of having it cornrowed again and then getting an afro weave sewn in. I can hear my grilfriends now... Oh well. I've made peace with my beliefs about hair.

I want something big (but not too big) that i can play around with. I want my own hair to be protected until summer. It's hard for me to manage my own locks unless I'm keeping them short. My hair may feel like steel wool, but it's really fragile when the seasons change. If I continue to wear it out, the cold weather will just wreck it.
So... I'm gonna look around for the best price over the next few weeks and get it done in time for the mid-winter break. It'll be a surprise for all.

*
In honor of dancing at Royale 'til 4 am last night, here's a poem I wrote a loooong time ago in a poetry course of Sekou's:

no regular dance

my blood heated up that one august
standing on the front porch with
a mango slice to my lips
sun ablaze
bouncing light off my eyes
waiting for the rain
yes even the hurricane became a musicmaker
drumrolling thunder accented by bamboo chimes
my feet in time with the raindrops
didn’t stop til clouds covered up that last
bit of sun

i was blown for years by those storm winds
into superstitious salutations
on dance floor patios in backyard Miami
where our mamas didn’t see us windin
arms swinging
trying to swat mosquitos and look fly
at the same time
a flame in the corner of the club
or a moonbeam on the beach
show me hip shaking the everyday stranger’s hand from
round my waist
“mami, lemme dance witchu.”
uh uh no me tocas

estoy buscando el ritmo perfecto
and it ain’t no regular dance i do