“Why is it called a toothbrush?”
(he asked rhetorically)
as I use it to brush more than one
it makes no sense to me
surely 'teethbrush' would be correct
for dental care and gums
so from now on that's what I'll use
to remove food residue between my teeth
while I still have some
I am munching nuts and waiting for a friend.
Both activities tend to lengthen the day –
until a dental alarm. Lazy time has stopped
and forced me to think,
examine the object
held between finger and thumb:
a fragment of tooth or of filling.
I wonder from where it has emerged.
The left? The right? The middle?
No pain, just jumble among a mouth
of confusing teeth, and lacks thereof,
so neglected, forsaken, abandoned;
until now, until my finger examines in earnest.
But what to do?
So I take a further handful of nuts.
Munch.
And am still waiting for a friend.
(January 2022)
A wise old owl this duffer's become
Trying to appear brilliant, flapping his gums
At times what comes out
Gobbly gook creating doubt
Bout the power of the brain or am I just a bum
I smell the popcorn hours after it has been popped
My mouth savors the smell, but not the taste.
Popcorn is for people who have good gums
I used to chew ice which I loved to do
It caused fissures and cracks in my teeth
Could I stop? Apparently not.
I look at a juicy steak
Wondering if I will ever have the teeth I need
To do one justice again
Surely in my next life time
I will be much more careful with my teeth
And my gums. Right?
My teeth are mean
They are old and sad
I grind them keen
I make them mad
My gums are red
And raw and sore
Dental words
I do abhor
Dental cleanings
Are not fair
I nearly jump
Out of the chair
I have had bad teeth
Since I was little
They break and bark
They are quite brittle
But since I need them daily
Even though they make me weep
I had better reluctantly
Use a brush and try to keep
While the red gums bloom
the honeyeaters
quarantine my garden
from other bird species
even my best mate
the little blackbird
hides behind garden pots
terrified
when he visits.
What did those spoke Mumbles just say?
I dunno
Dead air ... empty space,
me no hear
BTG fools don’t interest me
Bumping the gums
endlessly
Rat-a-tat, tat talk
that make your ears bleed
They’re saying a lot of heavy nothing,
with an empty, light trigger touch
Incoherent lips mouthing something
that don’t mean much
Less than ant important ... verbal transmission
with a broken clutch
BTG fools be moving those lips,
spraying the spit
Chewing on another straw lie
BTG fools be posing big-city slick,
thinking citizen we be country farm hicks
Playing potty mouth politricks —
Tweet telling the people
that nothing’s gonna blow
Even tho’
the bomb is near the
end of the wick
Bumping those gums;
buying more bump stocks,
and selling more target practice time
Tick, tick ... tick
Lying, lying ... lying
Bumping their gums, killer croc crying:
Red-nose Reign D. Mumbles said,
write a bullet letter coal stocking stuffed list
And seal it with a sloppy mistletoe gunfire lead kiss
Him Bad Santa Scrooge
gon give all you little elves an automatic death wish
BTG fools paradise
are rotten cavity promises
that do Ebenezer suffice
A wise old owl this duffer's become
Trying to appear brilliant, flapping my gums
At times what comes out
Gobbly guk creating doubt
Bout the power of my brain or am I just a bum
A whistle stop
for the roadside café
pie and sauce
with peas and coke
please
to chase
down the dust
of the red centre
in the heat haze
the slow moving
ghost gums
come to life.
If I could see into your mind
I wonder of all the mischief I'd find
I bet I'd see memories you'd like left behind
or I'd see your rationale that was forced to resign
By your ego and pride and lack of humility
the parts of you that I hide when they start to appear in me
I'd see the dreams and ambitions and hopes that end suddenly
and maybe just a little shame sneaking in rather subtly
Would I be able to face your inner thoughts ringing clear?
would you think all the thoughts I never wanted to hear
and shine a light on the subjects I've always feared?
would I receive any wisdom, at all, for my future years?
Or would I only find tears?
I've always thought too much of what goes on in your head
the insecurities haunt me as I lay in my bed
the worry, wonder and heartache I wish I could shed
as I sit and I wait until these feelings are dead
but what if, for some reason, that day never comes?
then I may go insane, take my place with the bums
and live out my days in a shack in the slums
my teeth already ground and I'll be grinding my gums.