Survivor

Torture it to ringlets
Coronets or plaits.
Colour it scarlet
Purple, green, old–lady–lilac.
Scorch it with tongs.
Frizz it with chemicals.
Stick it in quiffs with sugar.
It seldom complains.

Even the hair
Of unnamed dead
Buried in bogs,
Dried in Egyptian sands
Long before history
Was hieroglyphed,
Still shines as red
As on the living head.