In England, I went to the same hairdresser for almost the whole time I lived there. Some days she would do the small talk routine, most days she wouldn’t. It seemed to me that the lack of discussion meant that she was concentrating on the other people in the workplace. However, it was very uncomfortable at times.

Incisive Silence

Kaput! The day had gone from bad to worse;

An instant later it was lost for good –

Bad timing steals one’s hour, like Robin Hood

Oblivious, regardless of one’s purse.

OK, OK, so this is lousy verse –

Do you think thoughts are truly understood?

Like keeping resolutions if you could,

Each mental image comes to then disperse.

So what have all these words to do with you?

Jew’ls, hung suspended from a golden chain,

Use little thought to comprehend their life:

Like you, they do the task they’re set to do,

Inflicting not one sound; they don’t complain –

Except your scissors cut air like a knife.