Loose Teeth

whole

As I think about it now, all I can gather from my soul 

-is numbed laughter and anxious bouncing from my left knee

If anything, life proves just how funny it can be -

Finally giving you words for your suffering so that you can articulate it delicately

This is how it's been, tense jaw, tongue biting 

Softening other people's blows about your own state 

When, if it affects them this badly, you'd think they'd do something

 -much sooner than now to prove that "bond" they've strained

But here I was, 

having cavities filled that had been bugging me for a decade,

and they asked me about my typical dental pain

I said I've adjusted, I've been forced to ignore it and pray

And when four of my teeth were suddenly whole,

I found myself running my tongue over them constantly,

 just in disbelief and finding out that even though the problem was gone,

I had to once again adjust to the new parts of me

I didn't really know what was affected by the decay,

My teeth alignment was now different, how I ate

I was overjoyed but confused - and then today,

 I realized this was this biggest metaphor for how I've changed

Happiness and contentment have inched their way into my life

It's almost too odd to explain, but at times I mourned for the ache 

Feeling whole was so unfamiliar that I couldn't fathom where I stood

A position to where I could look ahead instead of lying in wait