LIGHTER THAN AIR

Troubled pop starlet Britney Spears took reinvention to an extreme this weekend, shaving her head to the scalp days after reportedly checking in and out of rehab, sparking media speculation that she is nearing a breakdown.

The weight of the world
rests on celebrity shoulders
when the pressure gets too much
and confidence moulders
away into rehab
after the call of the wild
has stripped back all ego
to find hurt, hungry child.
So it’s no surprise
that Britney Spears’ hair
was the first thing she’d lose
to feel lighter than air
and capable, confident
despite all the shocks
to her over-cooked system
and all the hard knocks
of two marriages, childbirth
two divorces and despair
in less than three years.
I’d lose my hair
under similar pressure
and I’m not even caught
in the celebrity thresher.
When your life is a car crash
the whole world wants to watch
radical action
is a helpmate, a crutch
A change of direction
can change people’s views.
So the hair I understand,
but Britney, why the tattoos?