Teeth are so delicate. They are essential
Part of your body frame.
Laid out on the dentist’s couch,
You have to be treated
Still vibrant, for how long?
You’re shown a blueprint of the future

How the lower jaw has shifted away
Into a neighbor’s pot. The fillings shimmer
But it’s glowing work by now.

A skull white as enamel
The doctors fine stitching can be admired.
Does it remember being covered
With messy hair like a coconut?
Bald as a baby and with wide front tooth left
You have the inverted grin of a funny clown.

So you salivate and split up.
That’s only temporary.
There’ll be just one big cavity soon.
You’ll be dry – dry as a bone.