The Hair of an Old Man
In the
dream I
gradually notice
that I’m
getting younger.
But although
the consciousness
behind the
face is
the same,
the face
itself is
not mine;
it’s the
face of
an alternative
younger me,
someone I
could have
been.
What I’m mostly
taken with
tho is
the hair.
The hair
is thick
& rich &
pitch black.
I’m in
my house
in the
dream &
there’s a
woman with
me I
can’t identify.
I bring
her into
the bathroom
to look
into the
mirror over
the sink.
I want
verification
of what’s
happening.
I don’t
mention the
startling
new face,
I concentrate
on the
hair.
“Look,”
I say.
“My hair
has turned
black again.”
“It’s the mirror,”
she says
& tilts
my head
a certain
way so that
my hair
turns gray
& brittle,
the hair
of an
old man.
HCOLOM PRESS is the heir to Vagabond Press, which began as a main player in the Mimeo Revolution of the Sixties and continued publishing right into the jaws of the new millennium. HCOLOM PRESS embodies the spirit of Vagabond Press, retooled for the times we live in.
Hcolom is Moloch spelled backwards. Moloch is an Old Testament deity to which children were sacrificed, a practice society still engages in with increased enthusiasm. Consumerism is the new Moloch, manifesting itself like cancer in war, politics, the arts and religion, in every nook and cranny of human endeavor, draining the intrinsic beauty out of life and mutilating the innocence and magic of childhood with its commercial meat hook. HCOLOM PRESS intends to publish books that by their nature repudiate this pernicious force–novels, poetry, children’s books and books that transcend genre.
Our launch book, in June of 2006, was John Bennett’s novel, Tire Grabbers, a fable of sorts, a reality book rooted in the fantasy of our times, the story of the coming of Moloch and the children who rise up in rebellion against it.
Books of kindred spirit will follow close on its heels. Go for it by clicking here… or hit the Hcolom logo above…