Grandma would take her teeth out, the mouth suck in
talk funny with tongue abandoned, no tooth to touch
each word, her bedtime ritual. In a glass by the sink
dentures grinning from their pale solution.
When she’d wear them next morning refreshed
from a deep sleep, the teeth as though filled
with nocturnal news, would clack against gums
like a compulsive gossip. A bad fit yet still
Grandma would indulge in her kielbasa and pierogies,
still she would take what she wanted, and swallow it whole.
talk funny with tongue abandoned, no tooth to touch
each word, her bedtime ritual. In a glass by the sink
dentures grinning from their pale solution.
When she’d wear them next morning refreshed
from a deep sleep, the teeth as though filled
with nocturnal news, would clack against gums
like a compulsive gossip. A bad fit yet still
Grandma would indulge in her kielbasa and pierogies,
still she would take what she wanted, and swallow it whole.
