Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Hirsute Hurrahs



image of/by buttkus


Hirsute Hurrahs

“I am undaunted in my quest to amuse myself
by constantly changing my hair.”--Hillary Clinton

There does seem to be something
                             religiously/spiritually/fashionably significant
                                         to being hirsute, with long hair & beard, as
                             are the Hassidic Jews, Islamic leaders, Quakers, Amish,
Mennonites, Chinese philosophers, & old hippies--
            even to some extant this resonates with me, myself, as I prepare
                            for an audition in a historical play; MRS. PACKARD, 
            with long gray locks over my ears, hanging down in my face
that is now covered with a salt-&-pepper slightly-trimmed beard;
being prepared to style my ample growth
into a full beard, 
          mutton chops, 
          drooping mustache, 
          van dyke, or long
          thick sideburns--whatever the character calls for; 
               because it is far easier to trim long hair & a beard,
                              but much more difficult to grow them out during 
                                             the rehearsal period--I abhor fake beards & wigs.

************************************************

In 1968
at the Biltmore Theater in NYC,
          a Broadway show opened called
                   HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical;
     its songs became anthems for the war protesters,
     its profanity, irreverence for the American flag, nudity,
     sexuality & depiction of drug use
changed the scope of musical plays forever
                     to the infectious strains of Age of Aquarius. 

***************************************************

Mighty Samson tore
a lion to pieces with his bare 
hands, they say;

slew a thousand
Philistines with the jawbone of an ass,
tore the city

gate completely off in Gaza before punishing
the entire population,

but he was
no match for the cunning Delilah, who
was paid 11,000

pieces of gold
by the angry Philistines to find Samson’s
weakness; which she

dutifully did, cutting
off his seven long locks, rendering him
defenseless, robbing him

of his God-
given extraordinary strength. They captured him &
made him a

slave after blinding
him; but they failed to notice that
after a year

his hair grew
longer, & as they lashed him to 
temple pillars

he asked God
for the strength to exact his revenge,
which he was

granted--pulling down
the central pillars, killing thousands along with
himself. No one

seems to know
or remember, or care whatever happened to
the lovely Delilah. 

Glenn Buttkus

Posted over on dVerse Poets Pub Poetics

Would you like to hear the author read this Hair Poem to you?


21 comments:

Unknown said...

Faded sides, long up-top - enough for a bun. And full beard that must look untamed... that is the trend with the young--and the old going thru midlife crisis--people of today... there's even a community of closed-minded guys in the gay community - BEARS. They look down on men who are unable to grow beards, body hair, etc. They say it's a "lifestyle," I say it's just grounds for even segregation among those who endure enough discrimination already...

Unknown said...

*even more. proofread and still missed that... ha.

Mary said...

Good luck with your audition, Glenn. I assume that photo is yours. Looking good! Smiles.

I remember when "Hair" was shocking. I did go to see the play & the members of the cast interacted with the audience; and I prayed no one would interact with me.

The story of Samson is a good 'hair' story indeed. He did indeed get his revenge. And, indeed, I do wonder about Delilah!

brudberg said...

Nothing is better than natural hair for a role.. I hope you have great luck with yours.. and I guess Delilah just waned into obscurity after doing that single deed.

Claudia said...

samson and his hair... what a sad story about love and power and betrayal... i'm glad that god granted him his last triumph... and i have to confess that i never saw the musical hair full length - know some songs from it though...

Brian Miller said...

nice....the challenge of the existing plays eventually led to American Idiot which i saw on broadway, which was very cool....brother, we are becoming more salt than pepper---just saying...ha....one of these days i will grow my locks out again...i had long hair in high school...best wishes on the audition man...

Marina Sofia said...

No less than three different takes on hair. Yes, I too instantly thought of the musical 'Hair' - which my parents (children of the 60s though they were) thought too shocking and stopped me from seeing as a child.

Anonymous said...

Hair! Flow it, show it, Long as God can grow my hair! I remember that much from that song. Pic looks good. If they don't take you, they're nuts. wonderful poem. I truly enjoyed reading.

Grace said...

You look good Glenn ~ Better to grow them then trim them when needed for the role ~ Good luck with the audition ~

I love that story of Samson ~ The price of love is quite high isn't it? But then again he was blessed by his gifts again ~

Anonymous said...

holy! wow!!! Glenn...Your layout of this poem of yours is incredible and so brilliant!

where do you get your inspiration from?

Love this whole poem. Filled with so many images and such an imagination and creativity you possess.

:)

Margaret said...

How fun is theatre? My son graduates from UNCSA and is off to NYC in May. My daughter is majoring in scene design and all my other kids to community theatre… LOVE Hair, and yours as well! Wig and Makeup professionals may be a bit miffed, but your own hair and beard are truly far more comfortable. My favorite story in the Bible growing up was Samson and Delilah! Great post! And I hope you get the role.

lynn__ said...

If they go by your hair, you should get a good part :)

I never saw "Hair" but liked song "Age of Aquarius"... as well as your retelling of the story of Samson & Delilah!

Truedessa said...

Glenn,

Well, that is a dashing picture and I agree if you can grow your hair naturally why not, then no need for a wig. Best of luck to you and keep us posted. Oh, the story of Samson and Delilah is a powerful one.

Victoria said...

These are great, Glenn. Much luck with your audition. So glad you brought Samson into play and what the heck did happen to Delilah--and for the matter Jeezebel (sig) and a lot more of those female biblical gals?

Prajakta said...

Incredible piece! You have brought in an excellent social perspective through your poem! I have never heard of this play; I will look it up.

Kathy Reed said...

Wondering if the tryout was today or has yet to transpire? A distinguished gentleman, to be sure! The years have been quite good to you. Will have to check out the dates of the play in Sumner. Also love the refresher on Sampson and The Age of Aquarius...as always, you provide us with action and insight.

Katie Mia Frederick said...

Ah.. all the faces of hair you eloquently speak to here..and i think if Delilah is around today.. she might be sporting a fake mustache herself...

But it's kinda nice to see facial hair making a come back.. as truly there can be art and meaning to it.. that continuously changes as time goes now..:)

ayala said...

You look great ! The story of Samson is powerful. It was nice to remember it again . Lovely.

Anonymous said...

The process that Delilah went through is an interesting tale too...you might have to do a speculative poem on her sometime...and whatever happened to her.

Mark Butkus said...

One of the things that I enjoy about your poetry Glenn, is the theatricality of your poetry. You have acts! Diverse acts held together by a common theme.

JodetteP said...

I must admit, listening to you read out your poetry really brings out the theatricality in them... I especially loved this piece because of all the stories it harbors :) I think I'm going to watch Hair after this haha! Good luck for your audition!