Primordial: An Abstraction

29

On the care of the body. .

I don’t like hair.

My hair.

The hair on my body.

I shed. Hence I shave.

From nose to toe.

I use grooming shears.

I don’t shave down to the skin. I like to maintain a veneer of fuzz so that I don’t resemble a shrew or an outpatient. This is important to me.

Many things are important to me.

My forearms are the hardest to trim because of the bones in my wrist and my elbow. I always make mistakes and cut the hair too close. If there are too many patches I shave my forearms to the skin with a straight razor.

Sometimes I throw out my grooming shears and get a new pair, thinking it’ll be easier.

It’s never easier.

Nothing’s ever easier, it seems.

All grooming sheers present unique problems.

There’s simply no good way to shave my forearms.

Thankfully I don’t have any hair on my back except for a few nearly invisible strands on my lower, outer flanks that are easily plucked or shaved if I look over my shoulder in the mirror.