It had been
Five years
Since my last cleaning
And the woman who
Took my x-rays
In the free clinic
Winced when I asked
Is this how it’s supposed to be?
Are my lips supposed to glow green?
They sat me down
And she told me I had calculus
Which is the fancy medical term for shit on your teeth
That technical school kids say
To feel good about their tuition
And she said
That my gums were pushed back
And my nerves were exposed
More than is typical
I asked her why
And she said
It was because I brushed so vigorously
Yeah, I say
I don’t want cavities
I brush like a jackhammer
She proceeds to scrape five years of crap off
And the chunks fly down my throat
And I bleed profusely over everything
Because she misses often
And is cruel in that amateur way
Only free doctors can be
Because the nerves are more exposed
It is so painful
That tears leak down my face
And blood drips down my chin
In rivulets
She compliments me on my brushing consistency
But insists I be gentler
And in the x-rays we find
That I have two cavities, my first in 21 years
But they’re not bad enough to drill yet
HAH I point out
So I brushed okay after all, didn’t I?
She handed me a towel to wipe away the blood
And shook her head
Nah, because now you’re at risk for gum disease
Because of the jackhammering
She gives me a new toothbrush
And a little vial of prescription mouthwash
And she points out how to be gentle to your teeth
On a pair of gums they ripped from the body of Goliath
And she sends me on my way
Without a lollipop
Earning her A for two and a half solid hours of scraping
As I lament the fact that I cannot afford this
I called the free doctor when I was deathly ill
And they said
Sure, we’ll see you. Come on in
In three months.
I’ll be dead in three months, I coughed
She laughed
But I really died
And I guess the moral of this story
Mr. Congressman
Is would you please, when you’re not golfing
Reconsider some kind of subsidized health care for the working poor?
No?
Okay.
2011:
Scrape
Scrape
Scrape
Scrape
Scrape...