never quite numb enough
and 2 hours into
a session on the dentist’s chair,
sunglasses for the lights,
an oral dam with suction
holds my tongue, catches
drool, blood, the drill
shrieks. And now and again that
smell I’d rather not know
snakes into my nostrils,
lingers
Soon, it will be a year
and I will tell myself
it’s been a year
all is well
Soon, it will be a year and she
will still assassinate
my character with a broad
brush dipped in the blackest
projection
Soon, it will be a year
and this is the longest
most intimate experience with
anyone since
Soon, it will be a year
but my teeth are clean.
