A barber's hands
Posted by GPP on August 28, 2003
In Reply to: Agha Shahid Poem posted by Anna B on August 28, 2003
: Anyone out there in the world know what where the line "Power is hideous / Like a barber's hands" comes from? Agha Shahid Ali uses it in "The Blessed Word: A prologue." I need to know. It keeps me awake. I wonder in the shower. I wonder on the street. Etc.
I have no idea about this quotation, but for ages the much more important function of a barber was shaving men rather than simply cutting their hair; and of course a straight razor was used--one had to trust his skill in the vicinity of your throat. Also, there were no real surgeons until around the middle of the 19th C; barbers performed whatever surgery was required--primarily 'bleeding' people--which is the origin of the red-striped 'barber pole' advertising their trade.
- A barber's hands ESC 29/August/03
- A barber's hands Jason (a canuck) 29/August/03