I am a Difficult Woman

It seems to me
that hair stylists
hold a strange amount of power.

One says,
casually,
offhand,
“Your hair is very thin,”
or very thick
or very curly
or “You, my dear,
have difficult hair”

and just like that,
for the rest of your life,
you are a woman with difficult hair.

Lovers are like that,
I think.

One says,
casually,
“You are a difficult woman
to love”

and just like that,
my hair is two inches shorter,
and,
I am a difficult woman.