Teeth (A Short Poghem)

Here is a short poghem for y'all. It was partially inspired by an article entitled "Traumatic Injuries of the Lips and Tongue" as featured on the Colgate Oral and Dental Health Resource Center. For some reason, a link to this appeared on Thought Catalog:

http://www.colgate.com/app/CP/US/EN/OC/Information/Articles/Oral-and-Dental-Health-Basics/Dental-Emergencies/Dental-Emergencies/article/Traumatic-Injuries-of-the-Lips-and-Tongue.cvsp

This ad appeared while I was reading the article "Requiem." I felt a bit bleak after reading that article, but since it was tagged "Cancer," "Death," "Life," "Retirement," and "Sadness," that's probably okay, right?

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“Teeth”

You told me it hadn’t worked well- I asked, of course,
and you implied it had made a mess. I think that
isn’t your fault- not your fault for failure, and not your fault
for the idea. I don’t remember if you told me it
was yours, but I’d bet it was. It’s not a terrible idea, to
brush the teeth of a man
who is perfectly capable of brushing his own
and who does, or did, or was in the habit of doing so.

You shouldn’t have faced him while doing it- that was
your mistake. Try standing
behind him instead, in front of a mirror, looking over
his head if you’re tall enough, or over
his shoulder otherwise, and brushing
his teeth that way. I can remember
tying a tie on a man who couldn’t tie his own, and I
would stand behind him, with us
in front of a mirror, and that worked
well.

I want you to try again,
standing behind him this time. I think
that will be more natural- you’ll be
able to use some of the muscle
memory
you’ve developed over the decades you’ve brushed
your own teeth. You wouldn’t have the feeling,
the feedback, you have
when brushing your own teeth- and perhaps
it would be rather like
brushing your own teeth when you’re numb
from a cocktail of pharmaceuticals
that renders you sloppy, stumbling, uncoordinated,
but preserves-
even intensifies-
your interest in personal hygiene.

Try again- just work slowly, and be
careful
not to hurt him- you won’t hurt him, I
trust you.

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Peas out.