Spotted Fringes

Today I spotted fringes –
like children look for lost dogs –
saw them flashing flags like
unsewn napkins, spotted one –

serving beer behind a bar.
Saw one shoot with bang of gun,
slam of door, kick of car.
Saw one with a horse tail chop,

Kung Foo Hussle, Kill Bill Hack.
Watched another disappear,
weave like hair nets cross a pier
duck inside an office block.

One in a headband,
one in a scarf,
one in a nightclub,
one on a bus.

I like the ones that flutter –
lift and wave like stacks of grass
move in strands or pack in dense.
I like the ones that bend.

I like the ones that
fit the forehead in a line
like a tightropes curving skein.
I like it that they’re –

chopped savage,
hard to keep,
poker straight,
combed in teeth.

I like it that they graze lids.

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