Punchline is Inside
I bite my tongue the instant the doctor's assistant punches holes into 7 crisp report printouts I bite now, that's my thing If knuckle nails is to wolverine Unbidden masochistic biting is to me, I'm wolver-rani My teeth, it is the one good thing I got from my father The very same set of even molars, aesthetic incisors and sharp canines And how I choose to care for it is to not Barring the nighttime brushing routine There is daily jhanjhanahat they must endure In the form of cold water and hot oatmilk chai But enough about crowns bound to jaws I didn't come out of my writer's block for this What I did want to write about is the philosophical undertone of teeth clenching and what it means about control, or the lack of it About wanting to keep your head (and jaw) above water because life is not consistently kind About being a drama queen, with crowns plural, who seeks sympathy in oatmilk chai because dairy is apparently not my friend, and supposedly never was I wanted