Sunday, December 14, 2008

Cleaving Pessoa


ROOT / CANAL
—for Phuoc-Tan & Diana

Nitrous————oxide!!!
Pretty neat————in many ways
My tight little mask————with tubes
See how I look like————Lady Frankenstein!!!
Higher than a kite————on Cloud Nine……
Then a huge needle————Holy Shit!!!
Novocaine————squirting deeper
Deeper————than deep
Deadening————my brain
So painless————they say
Etherized————like yellow fog
T. S. Eliot’s Waste Land—in my head!!!
Laid out————like London at night
So very comfy————like a couch potato
In front of————my crummy TV
Dozens of fingers————inside my mouth
Busy like an airport————full of strangers
Rushing this way————rushing that way…
Busy doing that————busy doing this…
Ah!!! The lovely drills & tools————drilling away
Snappy latex gloves————so squeaky clean
Snapping on & off————like neat Castanets!!!
What’s that background music————Liberace?
Oh well I suppose————better than Lawrence Welk
A brief deadly choke————quick more suction!!!
The cute assistant’s————breasts tight against me
How lucky I am————me & my throbbing Tooth!!!
Later a Crown————so perfect & golden
Only $2000————a real bargain
Compared to————my poor 401K
Baby boomer boohoo————hardly 101K now
Things could be worse————I could be
Bankrupt————like Ford, Chrysler & GM
All those execs————more Novocaine!!!
Pretty soon————I’ve got two of them
Two neat Root canals————plus a pair of crowns
Poised so neatly————discretely inside my head
Some meds for pain————lucky me!!!
No time————for Poetry though…
My brainstem————has been cleaved
Ever so neatly————like my cerebellum
Right down the middle————like Mulholland Blvd
Tall palm trees————leaning down overhead
Pretty soon————I’m back home again
Only to discover————I’ve got the flu
All those creeps————in the waiting room
Coughing away————with germs…
But lucky me————I can chew!!!

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