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Meggie D Oct 2012
Decaying from the gums, parasites wiggle between each tooth. Keep this smile on lock down girl, for these kind words are fleeting.
periodontal disease the bane
of **** Sapiens,
   and many a canine species
   such as Great Dane

or an alien pet smart tumblr trying to feign
bing the best faux pas footed friend
   to kind hearted primates of man kind,
   which latter perhaps an aristocratic
   Anglo Saxon overlord
   generously re pay hay'n

his/her diligent indentured serfs,
   and more importantly air
unlimited pro bono dental care
at Ivy League storied University of Pennsylvania

   School of Dentistry
   which demonstrably crafts aspiring
   reputable Dentists,
   many anon dis track did Engineer
or among other additional
   competitive uber pursuits

   nonetheless, said accredited blessed charges
   per this institution of higher learnin'
   paying back every single buck
renown for plethora of duck
quacking supremely smart graduated students
   drooling to bark out

   bone a fide intelligence fluct
chew waiting genius stratosphere
   comprising grueling vetting process
   scoring acceptance,

   a combination menu demanding
   eminent genetic luck
incorporating top notch
   flying colors and pluck

   initial pre admission screening interview
   (from prospective students
   leaving a positive first impression stuck
   thru rigorous quizzing presentation paces),

   which gauntlet on par with Olympic ardor  
   assiduously, modestly,
   swimmingly convincing board
   with collective listening ear
  
   comprising decision makers, judging fair
   how fated genetic sprig wrought
   (from imponderable hereditary blend his/her
   that above average intelligent head gear

to be applied at afore
   mentioned die hard lessons here
trials and tribulations didst ap pear
at timely juncture at me then young life

   when onset
   of periodontal disease didst rear
innocuously unbeknownst then,
   that...nada one tooth experts could spare
though grievously sad to bid teeth adieu

     now, tis gratitude these words
   pour favor at a tear
and second to none false teeth
   at age LIX doth veer
rill lee inspire this
   very satisfied patient
   February of 2018th year.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
back in the day
aye gladly placed trust
   asper resigned then questionable oral fate
   before hairs turned gray

joining high achiever pact (and pack)
to endure academic gauntlet
   divesting global incentive
   with alacrity, humility, tenacity
and thus this poetic disquisition

to pay homage to aspiring successful
   and alumni sporting ring of brass
aye honor within elite chattering class
   one significant summa *** laude graduate
   sum decades ago,

   perhaps reclining, reflecting, and reimagining
   latex  gloved gloved hands (now retired)
   'pon some tropical island paradise,
   or freshly mown grass

incognito with sun glasses
   revels Doctor John Brent
   perchance bred (bingo) begot astute lass
or lad exemplary instructing

   thru his own blood, sweat and tears
who (for x number of years)
   treated patients in an ever growing mass
sieve lee tending a family dental practice
   within Harleysville, Pennsylvania

asserted superb reference (on my behalf)
   via telephone to Doctor Montgomery
(aye presume) also enjoying
   his twilight phase (if alive - I hope).
(Asia may not know, this LIX city split baby boomer now ranks himself as an in denture charred sir vent reflecting on that painful instant when enamel collided with frozen water versus the recent removal of all teeth - courtesy of periodontal disease, and reckons how quaint that ****** fracas).
--------------------------------------------------------­----------------------------
inxs of cold playing air
froze natural pond, where
over head Canadian geese did blare
honking the latest goose sip loud and clear
when from behind a bush

   (color antler protected doe against fear
of smashed pumpkin) did peek a deer
alert to any danger by parking
   upright either one or both ear

lest predator doth lurk and induce fear
while Harris Family and friends
   oblivious attired in wintry gear
which protection from cold caused difficulty to hear

necessitating cupped gloved hands
   to punctuate every muffled word
to be but barely heard
akin to talking with mouth full of custard

above the quiet riotous mirth
   from this then gawky child nerd
precariously maintaining balance
   on his skates and glide like a bird
such attempts made
   this then boy appear quite absurd

ah, if only this mind of mine
   did two step quick think
but woe misfortune awaited
   across the bumpy natural rink

blithely jettisoning myself hither and yon
   like a rolling stone going plink
unaware while in camouflage pose
   disguised as one sneaky slippery fink
that snuck up in a blink

that found me squarely face down
   shattering left front tooth
immediately discovered
   via tongue as private sleuth
finding me in extreme agitated state forsooth
as if on fire from red hot chili peppers
   wrought from jagged booth

winning sympathy from parents
   who did level best to tend distraught son
who ushered playback of events
   with less disastrous rerun
praying for an angel

   to grant reverse outcome brought none
gut wrenching grief
   immediately terminated former fun
damage irreversible and
  perfect white smile forever broke con!
after dark April 26th, 2022

Prometheus bound out the heavens
to strike fear in the hearts of men and women
reminding us mortals how like oxen yoked
(together via a wooden beam forced
to undergo strenuous labor)
unlike most elderly residents here
at Highland Manor Apartments
whose arising out of bed exertion
tuckers sexagenarians, septuagenarians,
octogenarians, nonagenarians,
and very small number of centenarians out
nevertheless awakening me

courtesy ear splitting fire alarm
residents in their deep sleep, whom woke
with a start after deafening sound din stoked
immediate fear unbeknownst
how to gauge seriousness of clangor
until details figuratively dribbled out
that one occupant named Jack Barber
(purportedly occupying unit B5)
made well done grilled cheese sandwich
as burnt offering to spirits
linkedin to Lenni Lenape Indian tribes.

Understandable the indigenous peoples
originally occupying Southeastern
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
rightfully distraught being forcibly evicted
from their land, and blatantly
wiped off face of the Earth courtesy genocide.

Though caught unawares
by surprised renters abed;
most occupants appeared
dazed and confused
and seemed blithe
if they became gratefully dead
unsure how to heed
what did NOT appear
as a practice fire drill,
though yours truly
and the missus fled
toward front - exiting
two sets of double doors;
we learned after the fact

that back doors instead
accessed if an emergency arose,
but I (and the wife) followed
where other older folks
(analogous to zeppelin) led,
the majority bumbling, hobbling,
essentially old **** shuffling,
Yiddish shach? or schock?
Mach? correct me if in error, okay
as I attempt to outspread
before thee, a feeble embellishment
which poetic effort reflects retread
of tired and worn writing techniques.

Understandable, the aversion
living social in a highrise
acrophobia an abominable excursion
untenable to yours truly as incursion
foisted upon peacenik phrased poet
who as a lad suffered malocclusion
necessitating me to undergo
maxillofacial surgery (more'n
mine half life ago) painful operation
maxillary osteotomy, and
quite some years later
all teeth got extracted
attributed to advanced periodontal disease.

If/when part time
gainful employment acquired,
I could identify as indentured servant,
especially if hired
as a taste tester, or poetaster
by strict taskmaster,
who relentlessly teeths me
eventually forcing gumption
to allow, enable and provide
figurative modus operandi
to fight and bite back.
(21st century pearly white prosthetics,
restored jaw bar wah key)

Aye noel hunger bristle,
and when false teeth soak at night
     in tandem with stubby ****** gristle
har reckon noah kisses

     far me under mistle
toe, which prickly stubble
     ma home grown thistle
the downside being, not one
     chic chick, foxy gal
     can I sound cat call whistle.

All those years I underwent
     orthodontic care for naught
cuz profound gum recession
     and bone dissolution
(advanced periodontal disease)

     found me fraught
with angst riddled necessity,
     whence dentures bought
and brought emotional relief,
     where financial cost to me equaled aught.

Though grievous o'er grandiose
     diet of baby food – reg gar agit
tay shun rubs raw rib bill bit
subject recently queried fit
ting lee (tummy eldest sister)
     now answered with true grit

sans state 'o me health
     of body, mind and spirit
yea...yea...with the following
     poe whet tics *** writ.

Ten re guard ding learn'n tuck
     cap cha current day coup page
with collage of words that best
attempt to convey how one feels
after half dozen teeth removed,

yes, that day of departure fur remaining
lower teeth transpired countless
months ago with gums sorely adjusted
dats da tooth full testament to grinning,
and bearing final surrender
of thine bottom choppers.

Twas not with glee this dear bro
did accept fate, and now twitters like crow
adjusting new sans parabolic learning curve
     to talk where speech
     formerly akin to blob of dough

being formless, yet with for
     rest full gumption resignation
to these extractions did flow
into mine psyche (with twinge
     of accursed displease), boot go

to the University of Pennsylvania
     Dental School and heave I've hen ***,
this scrivener and regular joe
tried to find silver lining ya noun owe
removal of upper teeth from those
less than five centimeters below.

Long since scheduled
     about four bajillion weeks
(in the past, and relegated tummy
     personal dustbin of history)

     i.e. aboot Bad Jillian deux fortnight
found yours truly unable to reef er
     to the skin of my teeth,
yea this circumstance
     doth null hunger **** n bit

'though once dentures fitted,
     thee psychological gloom
(per maxillofacial situation)
   with relief insurance
     picked up tab breathes
     sigh of relief all day'n height.

if hi ignored grim state
     of vital accessories to chew
this har chap experienced additional
molars, cuspids, canines...
     falling out though few
remained upon embarkation,
     per painful turn of events, grew
ling a smidgen less worse

     than getting tossed out hoo
chee coot chee mama into
     the freezing brutal cold
by none other than Donald Trump
     eskimo master of royal igloo,
while Sarah Ann aid ding howling winds
of n arctic monkey shape shifting
into polar vortex, wood dove probably
found me coo wing in deleterious
state of health thru and thru.

Other than the above
     Matthew Scott Harris feels great
well.... on the bright side -
     no need to brush nor floss,
when ma mouth opened ajar -
   bing permanently totally toothless -

     aye noel anger viz self hate,
hence nor feel inclined
     to master ventriloquism, boot
     axe hep oral void analogous
     newborn as innate
vis a visa discover ring
     joyus toothless state.
Ignominy hewed into comeuppance,
where yours truly aggrieved state
far worse fate  
than becoming deceased, though
years gone by since meek kin
grievously afflicted soundly did berate
  
deplorable marital indiscretion
this mister (wordsmith) forced opaque  
double life undetected
confession subsequently told mate,
she (nor eldest daughter)
riled, none to pleased, nonplussed

the latter (now living/working of late
San Francisco, California),
thus distance doth abate
plus elapsed time buffer zone  
lessens lesson learned never to copulate
(best if done early at any rate)

still loathes (at least smolders)
apt appellation liaison found papa
caught with figurative pants down lil mandate
formerly loosed upon Venus to excavate
as no fallacy warm prickly didst deflate
no stranger as expletive ingrate  

attests no more Casanova trait
deservedly called him regarding
extramarital tete a tete
apology made forgiveness accepted,
thou accept culpability I narrate
wife high infidelity transgression,

mine inferiority complex
*** seeded to emasculate
all throughout boyhood,
adolescence, young manhood,  
veritable entire lifetime spate
whereby fourscore and seven years ago

minus seventeen orbitz hied dedicate
mastermind pursuit didst facilitate
matt's scott's getgo automatically
begat self worthlessness
dismal social withdrawal didst accentuate
courtesy threatening taunts,
name calling, bullying as master bait

helped discredit any shred and underrate
me yet, now vestigial self confidence
helps me to reevaluate
within calmer metaphorical seas
how to steer this wallowing,
lumbering, aging... frigate
plus a brief plug for Colgate,

nonetheless choppers rotted
legacy courtesy dental quandary...
subsequently oral crisis did abate
quick lemme abbreviate
courtesy periodontal disease
dentures fitted hence concludes
tracked train of thought I freight.
irksomely chafe and dig
(analogous to a bit size backhoe -
contracted courtesy local builders
Gambone Brothers) inside lip
on left side front of mouth
not surprisingly creating
quasi irritated sore welt
(as if I got smacked in the face

from out of the blue)
achingly painful dilemma
particularly whenever I bite and chew food,
which compromised mastication
seriously prompted eating soft
(goo goo gaga baby) with no pablum,
or yours truly switching
to a liquified diet of worms.

Aforementioned minor
physical oral ailment
reminiscent when yours truly
donned, sported, and touted braces
(on two separate occasions)
to double necessary rites of passage
since yours truly
glutton for punishment
while segueing from adolescence
into young adulthood

gifted with moderate sized overbite,
yet not full fledged
buck teeth the first go around,
where metal brackets
and/or little pins pierced, jabbed,
gouged, et cetera
into tender gummy flesh
generally unpleasant nasty encounter
super tramping as
cheaply tricked out human pin cushion
****** well right.

Methinks of the hours of veritable torture
spent seated in orthodontic chair,
where initial appointment
found me situated with maw opened
for stretches of time
that would be dwarfed
by subsequent pluperfect future hours
getting a numb bony ***
while veritably held hostage
courtesy the vise grips of dental technician.

I can never forget
experiencing preliminary step
into requisite initiation
getting an eventual smile
worth a million bucks
firstly to create gap (wide enough
to drive a mack truck thru),
which spacers essentially
little rubber squares
(at most an inch long)
to allow, enable
and provided leverage buyout
paid for by a pretty penny
prior to getting metal bands
bonded and insured to pearly whites.

Adjustment to being fitted
for dentures didst overly bite
recounted, recircled, and recapitulated
analogous when jaws underwent restructuring
where aforesaid maxillofacial territory
felt subjected to miniature
jackhammer and dynamite
forthwith adumbrated as memory takes flight
re-envisioning maximum headroom
affecting yours truly experiencing whiplash

as countless hands practically reached
into me ******* plunging
dentistry implements and gloved fingers
into buccal cavity
from soaring wuthering height
nearly choking yours truly
expediting at expense of mine cavum oris
carrying out veritable
fishing and hunting expedition
courtesy overhead jacklight

figuratively yanking tooth
and nail mustering might
allowing, enabling and providing opportunity
for tomorrow's dental practitioners
essentially dental students namely neophyte
took stab at a subjected human Guinea Pig -
as relegated to scientific experimentation
I tried to be agreeable and polite
at the mercy of said novitiate quite right,
now crafting epistle as a toothless troglodyte.

     Never during the story of my life asper present moment, whereby this body electric then witnessed LVIII celebrations of a womb dar full in utero gestation, and subsequent exit per birth canal in one direction ejected like some **** the torpedo or other lobbing hand grenade, or discharging any other type of ballistic military ordnance and after twice undergoing beautification of ma smile; first enduring gagging on quick hardening cement as benchmark impressions, spacers, thence soon followed by wearing braces.
     Membership to this adolescent rite of passage entailed requisite name calling as the victim remained mum imposed incommunicado what with wires that jabbed, pricked, and stuck every square inch of gums teasing the tillerman tongue felt furrowed plow as soft tissue became abundantly blistered chafed, and diced raw.
     Numerous teeth extractions later (which did smarted my wisdom), the drill mongering requisition team (incorporating a rooted right bitewing conspiracy), said prisoner interrogation attained the pinnacle of pain per practiced collaboration between vaunted, sainted long in the tooth professionally smocked specialists.
     These accredited, certified, and licensed torturers frenziedly insouciantly cackled with hair rising, maniacal, spine tingling pleasure while intermittently interrogating strait jacketed anesthetized subjected patient.
     Thee prisoner of Zenda implanted with gag reflex additionally besieged to a battery of expensive costly abuse.
     Such quaint ratified regular rigmarole included suctioning lips til dry as sawdust in preparation for (not to be mist witnessing open mouthed wide world) recalcitrant subject handily restrained as he/she barely weathered unpalatable quintessentially royally smitten to the nerve.
     This electric kool acid test basically pitched the heavily sedated sorely saddled seated subject into a novel threshold of oral suffering.
     The confederated legion of amalgam hated plaque attackers banded teeth forcing a tectonic shift of pearly whites to relocate closing gaps, where uber an crowdsource rank and file groupon identity guard did lyft suspected gumption, hence a healthy dose of x-rays served up to nip in the bud involving any tongue in cheek intervention, when perfectly viable molars thinned i.e. uprooted courtesy of orthodontic gang.
     Now incremental movement could be undertaken pursuant impressing well-brushed aides de camp.
     Thus temporarily crowns vis a vis provisional proviso practitioners of the villainous periodontal disease (qua gingivitis) stitching cavity where exposed synapses earned the chair rushed survivor of fiendish, ghoulish, and insidious enamel (tartar) scraping chieftains earning kudos sans at successfully foiling dental caries, plus serving as grandee enamel polisher.
   All that excruciating agony iterated above, now finds me shaking this mangy hirsute, (albeit thinning) head in consternation, frustration and induction, whereby microbial demons exercised, foisted and galvanized necessity to suffer.
     Interestingly enough, these choppers, dentures, false dentate much more pleasing that the real bone marrow wrought teeth courtesy of many a fraternal gauntlet hugger mugger.
     Maxillofacial surgery and wisdom teeth extraction plus abiding by the codas, edicts and general indemnity keeping American Dental Association in lockstep with noblesse oblige purveyors who tout regular dental hygiene.
     This new fangled cusp cutting prosthetic revolution per anatomical equipage that allows, enables and provides the means to return to masticating brought protracted hermetically sealed dissimulation within the noggin of this more tell male, who confesses to be a non student within the hierarchy of a bricks and mortar storied (perhaps ivy coated) institution of higher learning on account of rampant mental debility hashtagged diagnosis of Schizoid Personality Disorder cobbles, hobnails, and mangles any ability to function within the formal classroom. Case in point comprises the twelve years of veritable enslavement while barely getting promoted from one grade to the next.
     Even though handed a high school diploma XL (pipelined) traipsing orbitz ago around the sun, this contemplative, furtive, and intuitive lvii chap experienced horrendous difficulty ******* mine faux pas figurative heals up until the recent present. The acquiescence to relinquish the prospect to batten down anxiety and panic strewn hatches turned the tide, and found me giving up the good fight.
     A congenital biochemical mutation (I cannot expound on the minutiae of amino acid, enzymes, polymer, et cetera) that wrought havoc viz zit head upon thyself when in the throes of adolescence, despite thine late mum purportedly experiencing NO complication with me birth as a full term healthy baby boy.

— The End —