"In a completely different world one which is long gone now"

Transcendental Sonnet #995:
Olive and Buryl and the Barber Shop

I used to have to go to the barber every two weeks
In a completely different world one which is long gone now
We boys all had to do this or else be considered freaks
It remains uncertain if I survived all this or how
But I still remember Buryl the barber and his wife
Somehow I doubt that they were married but she was his life

I would ride my bike to get my twice-monthly "high and tight"
Grandpa had a Marine base and thought it would not look right
To not be able to see my scalp through those stubbly hairs
On the sides of my head: it was some sort of statement then
The meaning of which is now obscure and nobody cares
And I digress I guess but here is what I mean to say:

Buryl's wife was Olive Yancer she had cancer and when
She passed away... Buryl the barber also died that day



from +Steven Curtis Lance / Collected Poems, Copyright MMIV