Sculpting the pasha's beard ...

The young barber had learned his craft in Damascus before the war -

The clippers purred in his slim hand -

I'd lolled on a sofa, watching him sculpt a pasha's beard - 

He said something in Arabic when he put down the razor - 

Now his scissors whispered over my head - 

I gazed in the mirror whilst he cut my hair -

I heard the music of an oud -

Each note was like light from a distant star -

14 July 2022

Classic Barber

Ramshill

Scarborough