Staying Dark

[dukealien]

I had to read the first line a couple of times since in our vernacular, pumping a plumber's helper would mean getting exceedingly friendly with the tradesman's apprentice...

The black blobs do conjure up such an appetising image.  Hair, once jettisoned from its bodily roots, is really a most unattractive thing -- but I do hope you manage to retain your dignified gre(a)y for as long as it takes for you to at least knit yourself a bonnet.  

On a critical level (because I feel compelled to mention), this works well as a metaphor for the departure of youth.  All those years down the drain, and the surface is stagnant.  Cheery thoughts all round.

I believe Brit. Eng. for the item is "plumber's friend," same problem in other vernaculars and a syllable short to boot.  In the States it goes by "toilet plunger," example of Am. Eng. being more graphic as is often not the case.