Cavities

This poem describes how intense physical suffering (toothache) that results from poverty can result in a clear and cutting analysis of one's own failures.

O. my. g.g .g.Od......

     it hurts soooow ow ow wow bad.

Small cradle of sharp white bone

    harboring decay

                brown and black

                       inside

          little whelp of bone like a cracked rock

           festooned

                                  along the inlet of my mouth

                      anchored

                                     to the throbbing, volcano gumline

             A millstone of agony. Pulling on my nervous lip that used to wear

               A                           E................

                    S                 L

                           M   I

My feet push, strained across the bedroom carpet

      pushshshshsh out from my chair, draw back in, pushshshshshs back out

                           trying to dispense the pain, push it into soft yarn carpet

    soft yarn carpet                  soft yarn carpet                 soft yarn carpet

The flawless white of the window frame--a painful enamel

                          <All the sharp angles>

        !

Every thought is subdued far below the aching tooth,

     just a drowning whisper beneath screaming red gums

Nerves down to the root of my problem

                  screaming

    almost obliterate me.

         My head aches,

(below the skin, the skull is made of throbbing BONE.)

   my muscles pull my self closer

              to myself.

Over the drone of a perpetual moan

   I hear my mother, what she'd say when I was small

       in our mildew bathroom,

           our hard-water-stained sink (rust in our toilet bowl),

           struggling with me on her lap,

           fighting my mouth, my (WORDS!), with a toothbrush:

    “The world looms ahead of you. You  want to be an astronaut. Now brush.”

And one sharp thought rises above the ceaseless ache:

That when this pain ends,

The World will still loom ahead of me,

My life has taken orbit

       around a dead tooth,

and there will still loom a Cavity.

Reviews

[That_Girl]

I hate the Dentist... always torn between dealing with the pain or getting freaked out by some weird guy sticking his hands in my mouth. As a kid, like you I'm sure, dealing with the pain was my only option.

Anyways, I feel your pain. I also saw a tad bit of humor in this (weird?). More of a dry sort of humor. I smiled as I read this. Maybe that was just me though. Love it!

[Pax]

like a roller coaster...what a ride into words...and very sad as well...

[Ed Fagan]

That about made me want to call a Dentist.

[Coyote Poetry]

Some pain is hard to described. A toothache is one. You did very well in this poem. Some pain must be fixed or we will need some pain killers for sure. No weakness in the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Lushan]

wow.... just a question? Do you need your poverty?

[James William Dyer]

IT DEFINES .me. FOR SURE

[Ees]

Nice, wild movement, feeling! I love the way that the words are drawn out and repeated. It is perfect. I can feel pain. It doesn't have to be a cavity, it tells the story of pure pain and those things that you do to try and lessen it.

the only critique I have is this:
"my muscles pull my self closer
to myself."- it just sounds weird when you read it.

Great job portraying physical pain in a poem!

[Emily]

I loved this. You really made me feel the pain.

[spiritwind]

O--U--C--H. GRRRRR, if you didn't make me feel every inch of that excruciating pain, I don't know what you missed! I am EXCITED about your spatial display of your poem. Perfect!
"My feet push, strained across the bedroom carpet
pushshshshsh out from my chair, draw back in, pushshshshshs back out
trying to dispense the pain, push it into soft yarn carpet
soft yarn carpet soft yarn carpet soft yarn carpet"
This was exactly right! I have been there, I KNow you NAILED THIS ! I think I am now a huge fan of yours!! I cannot think of anybody that could have handled this topic with such skill!!

[Baby Ricochet]

I like it. Unusual subject matter.

[Lluvi]

Thanks for sharing! This poem it opens my eyes more about life. Thanks very much my wf friend.