A FAKE TOOTH by Franklin Dong

A Fake Tooth by Franklin Dong

A fake tooth always falls off on Christmas Eve. Hitler crawls out of the scrolls of a peace treaty/more, the calf whimpers an arrogant, presumptuous squeal dissipates, siphons, retracts reused blood droplets from the ventriloquist’s cracked palms & a dictator wearing nail polish beckons the fleet of runaway sons into the slaughterhouse. Sour urine watered a molding sidewalk to claim dominance. The pain-inducing street, panting heavily… whiffs of poison wander alone/a hibernating panda in the basement, two dirty windows glaring into moist dirt… only love is all maroon, only a cheap freak show swoons-the guided fool, the painfully, aggravating benevolence aged eleven, hails eggs and repeated questions onto my door/the gathering of drunken relatives proceeds inside… uncle said: “help yourself! We have veal, piglets and infants!” … The rogue reindeer buckles on its way, my jaws clamp down on a coin in the dumpling… A fake tooth always falls off on Christmas Eve.

Nancy Perkins ‘21