Teeth - Stork Rein

[Lawrence Robinson]

Teeth

In the dark of the night
the tooth fairy paid me a visit
and removed all of my teeth.
No roll of dimes under my pillow
the next morning, only
a coarsely written note — 
   Last visit, don’t need you anymore.

Slowly moving up the queue on
the waiting list for my dentist,
I finally got in.
“We’ve be seeing a lot of these lately.” 
A 100 watt flash of white from his mouth.
“Good for the denture business,
I must say.”
I signed up for the next queue,
didn’t shake his hand.

Back home I stood for a long time
in the kitchen, thinking, unthinking,
thinking that although I may not 
have my teeth anymore,
I still have my Japanese knives,
sharp and ready to travel.
	
	- Stork Rein