once young and new,
loose and frantic
now tangible testimonies
of times I’ve spent fantasizing

of a palm-rolling,
scalp-oiling
kind of self-love,
the kind to be
bee-hived high
or spill around
as a cascading crown

growing, weighted
speckled with
gleaming drops
to plate my crops
stretching
forever more
adorning
what I’ve worked
so hard to capture

grown and matured
firm and nurtured
grounded
to endure
twists and turns

– B. Brown

(image courtesy of Pinterest)