Don't Touch My Hair!

DON'T TOUCH!

~ Chime  March 2, 2002

To create those extensions, how long did it take

All the hair on my head is mine, it’s not fake

But, without further ado

Fingers foreign rifle through

My crowning glory, my tresses, my locks

Respect is quite lacking, could a person be ruder

Best remove those five digits I warn the intruder

Or, I might do the same thing to you

Then you’d know the feeling

And it’s not very appealing

A lab specimen, I’m not, so adieu

But for some reason, it’s open season

Around my hair and the do’s that I sport

Whether Chinese bumps, twists, or styled rather short

Wavy, spirals, curly, afro, cornrows

Nothing’s off limits for the terminally curious

Examinations are par for the course

These ‘walk-by’ hair fondlings are not new to me

As a child back in England, it’s an old story

That the pat on the head of a ‘darky’ kid

Would bestow lots of luck on a person

News flash - I’m neither good luck charm nor pet

Simply a human being deserving of respect

That was the past, it’s a new millenium

People have learned so much since then

If permission to stroke has not been granted

My advice to you is simple and such

Treat others as you’d have them treat you

My hair’s off limits to you and don’t touch 

I wrote this poem nine years ago and it's still applicable unfortunately as it happened again yesterday!  Yikes, when will it end? The offender made a sneaky swipe of one of my sacred tresses just after shaking my hand.  Whoooooaaah. Don't f------g touch my hair!

Interestingly enough, ReVision Quest, a CBC radio show mixing storytelling, current affairs interviews and comedy to explore issues affecting Native peoples today, recently ran an episode on the importance of hair to Native Peoples. Although I'm non-Native, my hair is important and sacred to me.

I hope you understand.

Thank you.

Chime