TEETH

teeth
pearly whites
gnashers
canines and incisors
molars and pre-molars
milk teeth
second teeth
wisdom teeth
rotten teeth
false teeth
no teeth
toothless
a bit long in the tooth...
teeth have always given me trouble, seeds
ever since i can remember
ive been having 'em out
having 'em pushed about
having 'em filled
capped
root canalled
when i first came to sk
i even got a couple of 'em re-root canalled
cos they hadnt been done properly in england
a year ago i had a wisdom tooth out
and felt sick as a parrot all day...
these days they're sensitive to
a) hot
b) cold
c) acid
d) sugar!
hannah sometimes asks me why they're 'yellow'...
in spite of all the careful brushing and flossing
and ripeseed's minimal intake of sweets, choccy
and all those other sugary things
off the vegan menu
i can never ever get away
with just a quick hop in n out of the chair
today's visit being no exception
even though scale and polish gurl tells me i dont need one
cos my teeth are so nice and clean
rotten old dentist tells me my rotten old fillings need redoing
worse, fireseed got a couple of cavities at the front that need filling
and has to go back again in three weeks for the pleasure...
just to rub it in
my little brother's always had great gnashers
my wife gets a clean bill of health every time
(though hannah's just started a worrying trend)
granted a lot of it is self-inflicted
the prolific quantities of fizzy pop and mars bars and choccy
i used to consume as a kid
didnae get me off to a great start in oral hygeine
come to think of it
i had a shocking diet as a kid
its a wonder i aint a four-foot adult dwarf with rickets!!
when i was about thirteen
with a mouth already half-full of amalgum
i started visiting this 'orthodontist'
who was supposed to be straightening out my crooked incisors
seemed to me like a right old con
month after month
me and my mum trailed across the city
to this guy dr harry's clinic
to add insult to injury
i was given this horrible appliance to strap around my head
linked to a brace by two little elastic bands
i was supposed to wear this odious contraption
about fourteen hours a day
all the time i was in the house
including in bed
though thankfully not at the old grey school!
and the thing was that my teeth never seemed to move
the damn things always looked the same!
i guess everybody's got their strengths and weaknesses
their achilles heel
now you know one of mine
(and i got a few)
keep 'em clean, my seeds
love
me