Another Filling Another Failure -- by File

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we were both bleeding from the gums
when we met
malnourished neglected amateur experts
solitary technicians with bad reputations
unsanitary practices and stuffed filing cabinets
inflamed with infected
bloody case histories
of traumatized ex-patients

anaesthetized and ethereal
we did what we knew
what we thought we had to do
the internal probing of each others tissue
for live nerves in latex gloves
with sharp metal instruments
extracting wisdom detritus
and drilling for goodness
sake in crimson caves

we wore headlamps
on our foreheads
because we cared
we shared our padded vinyl reclining chairs
that fit snug stuck
to our clammy forms
for oral audit both aware
of all the tense fingers that had
clutched clinched there
before us in fear the others like us
that had clamped shut their eyes
and opened wide
and hoped in aching desperation for relief inside

sigh
another filling another failure
dental records never lie
we worked hard on our smiles
with laughing gas by rank canals
and bridges in decay
but our ether embrace
hid the grace
less
ness of our pain
we lost the whiteness that defined us
in the unwinnable
war against stains

deniable accountability
in luminous braces
time and patience past
trust
started missing appointments
hope stopped payments
our rosy dreams lay caked
at the bottom of our glasses

we took to meeting
in the waiting room
between Hello! and Home and Garden
gnashing grinding
second-hand false teeth
felt crammed in didn’t fit
malocclusion wince
rinse
spit



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