Sometimes It’s Easier/Kaitlyn Herman

Sometimes it’s easier not to run away from 
a parade of women with eyes wider than perms.  
Arms stretched out—reaching for your hair.  
A mis-aired episode of the walking dead.  
Palazzo pants thwap, radiating the sound of  
corduroy through the interior hostility of an  
outlet mall. Reading chains jingle against  
chunky pink frames. Clink. Clink. Clink.  
Wafts of Rosewood and Patchouli seize your  
senses, a chokehold on your immune system.  
Transported to the discounted perfume aisle of  
a JC Penny’s. Arms out. Still reaching, with  
long fingernails that forbear clawing your scalp.  
Meticulously pulling apart your curls,  
inspecting every congenital brunette thread.  
Suddenly the Old Navy has become a hair salon.  
Aqua Net pulled out of faux crocodile skin  
bags, clamping hair to the back of your neck like  
a warm summer day—only worse.  
Personal space completely erradicated by  
ladies with ozone stripping aerosols. A cracked  
compact with caked L'Oréal transports you  
towards visions of velour tracksuits and high  
cut swimsuits. A photocopy of mom’s senior photos.  
A rat tail comb teases your hair to “perfection,”  
though you run through the hours of  
subsequent detangling. Tug. Tug. Tear.  
Your hair sprayed eyes look up to see 
smiles wider than plates of early bird specials.  
You’re no longer the stranger in the mall.  
You’re their daughter, granddaughter,  
sister, friend. A memory pool of dolling  
up their own child. So yes, sometimes it’s easier.  
Easier to let the parade of bygone women 
in the outlet mall pull at your mane  
every once in a while, for a mountain of  
hair and smile that mean so much. 

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Kaitlyn graduated from St. Norbert College in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in English. After graduation, Kaitlyn moved to back to Colorado for her second summer as an Outdoor Literacy Educator in Steamboat Springs. She is currently teaching young Colorado youth all the wonders of reading and writing—from Harry Potter, to Hatchet, to Land of Stories! In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys spending time outdoors with family and friends, blogging, reading and writing poetry, playing solitaire, and collecting vinyls.