to make completely certain we weren’t
being too generous. We left IOUs where pillows had been
and took teeth as a deposit.
“To know how to smile
Is to know how to bite joy so it does not leave your mouth”
weary feet became wounds became canines
became desperation. Shoes ate distance leaving bitemarks on further
trying to mouth the word safety in a foreign tongue
“9 Out of 10 dentists
is a majority, ignorance can be democratic”
there are going out of business signs
whitewashed in place of our smiles
there are final reductions on grins in every window
“A million in pennies
is still pennies, they do not speak our currency”
I try to mime that I at least asked for
the dentist not the tooth fairy but my teeth get in
the way of my hands
I expected a better response when I searched
a synonym for a shit eating grin
but all I found was a picture of our shores reading “welcome”
attached, beautifully framed
to a firmly shut door
Sad laureate Sam J Grudgings grew up in the punk scene and found poetry by accident. He can be either be found in his hometown of Bristol or traipsing around the UK yelling his work at audiences because it's cheaper than therapy. There is a prophecy concerning him and the end of the world but he's too polite to ask what the prophecy actually says.
Twitter: @storygiverpoet
Facebook: samjgrudgings