23/30 Taming the scruff

They began as one more embarrassment of puberty

Sparse and haphazard

In patches of chin and upper lip

The occasional sideburn

It took too long for me to notice

Longer to take action

To work up the nerve

Rummage through drawers

Fill my hand with foam

Awkwardly touch Dad's razor to my cheek

Figure out the mechanics

Know what to do

When I first drew blood

A mess of toilet paper and band-aids

Dull blade across acne

A decapitation to rival Louis XVI

Only, less intentional

That daily experiment:

With the grain, or against

Foam, gel, or a dry shave

The Christmas Norelco

Never close as a blade

But always less carnage

One quick pass

Or several

The patches broadened

Eventually connected

Traced a path along chinstrap

Arched up under nose

Never really filled in the cheeks

It still grows out awkwardly

More neck than face

No five o'clock shadow graces my cheekbones

Late in the day

There is no moment of handsome

It is the disappointment of maturity

One more inconvenience of manhood

I've stopped letting them grow

Save for occasional lazy weekends

Now they're sprouting the wrong shade of old