i used to smile with my mouth closed.
the crowding and twisting wasn’t pretty enough
for the critiques of middle school
that blew through the popular girl’s braces.
people are scared of the dentist
the same way they’re scared of rejection.
i cried when my jaw was forced open
with a metal spider web cemented to my teeth.
i’ve spent years of my life smiling in the mirror
only to see threaded wires and rubber bands
making a mockery out of me.
i’ll spend forever with my retainer
hidden in my mouth at night
lest my years of discipline be ruined.
it was all to achieve perfection, acceptance, love
yet there was still insecurity in my gums,
laying dormant and impacted.
my baby-toothed thought of all that was worthwhile
was making a boy fall in love and chip his tooth
at the sight of my fixed smile.
love isn’t straight teeth, its the person smiling.
its seeing my swollen face,
blood-mixed saliva coming out of the corner of my mouth
while i spit out gauze on the couch
and still thinking i’m beautiful.
it’s calling me the prettiest girl ever
when i struggle to put chapstick
on my half-numb face.
he carried me to the living room
like a parent soothing their teething baby,
holding me as the novocain wore off,
and tenderly kissing
my equally tender cheek.
i feared there would be a pain in my chest
greater than the one in my mouth,
but he held me close,
his eyes bright like the dental office lights.
i lost my wisdom teeth,
but i didn't lose the wisdom of knowing he loves me.
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125,021 Literary Works • 672,742 Reviews
Wow, this is really well done. I love the way it goes from insecurity about appearance to fading gently to love. He sounds like an amazing person, and the way the poem portrays him is really nice and satisfying. I like how real it is, like a simple description of your experience with a poetic touch to it. Wonderful <3
Woahhhh, those last two lines gave me chills - beautiful !!
This is awesome - remind me to review
*pokes* Review!
>.>*pokes*
Ahhhhhh this is so cute. I love how you twisted the grotesque images of teeth/ braces /retainers so that it almost seems monstrous... and ended up with a poignant feeling of love. It almost gives me Beauty and the Beast vibes because of that monstrous feeling, in fact. Like, yes, the braces and metal and dentist offices are painful and create what seem to be almost metallic torture devices. But also, love can overcome that and see beyond the monster and love anyway.
I also love how you kept with the metaphor. In so many poems, sometimes you'll see someone pick a metaphor and then shift metaphors another line or two later until it just seems really mismatched and disorganized. But you stuck it out and chose to deepen the metaphor, and I really love that.
Also, I really just like the message... of that feeling of being loved, even in our worst moments in which we are most vulnerable. While this might sound dumb, one of the most tender moments that I remember was my husband gently brushing out my tangled, greasy mess of hair at the hospital because I had three IVs in my arms and I couldn't brush it myself. So the fact that he would do this and be so gentle about it... ahhhhhh. He has my heart. <3
Anyway, wonderful work!
Awww Snoink you're so sweet and encouraging! You and your husband are so cute, its always the little acts of love that stick out the most. Thanks for the review! <3