Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

When Dentists Die

When dentists die,
They get popped right into the mouth of God
Like so many sugar-free lozenges.

There, among the pearly whites,
They investigate the afterlife with their little mirrors
And they say, "Karen, look at this!"

But Karen can't come--
She is still on Earth watching the EMTs thump the fallen figure in the white coat,
Counting off the compressions
As if they expected him to get up and dance.

When dentists die,
Angels put their charts up to a light,
Then carefully remove any accumulated sin
With their gleaming silver instruments.

Meanwhile, Karen leans against a sink and says, quietly,
"He can't be gone! He had a three o'clock!"
Tonight, she will go home and make pasta salad.
Her dog will be there, looking cheerfully up at her as if she had just dropped down from Heaven
Deus ex machina
And she will be grateful for his devoted heart
And his beautiful perfect white teeth.
__________

15 comments:

  1. How captivating the title; and unexpected the words...nicely done.

    I have just started seeing a new dentist and when we talked of my job they were all... "wow, that is a tough job!" I could not help but laugh and say "and yours is pleasant?" Kudos to the dentist!

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  2. The heavenly Father not only broke the mold with you girl, but melted it down and saved bits and pieces of it for only Earth's best and brightest to come.

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  3. Ha! Nice title!!! Well-written story poem!!!

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  4. Hey, I want to investigate the here and now with a little mirror. Will you send me one?? :)

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  5. Now, Shay! You know perfectly well that dentist's don't go to heaven!

    That first line has a perfect bite (sorry, I can't think of another word) to it.

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  6. The goddess would let dentists into heaven, but only if they bruss and floss the elderly as penance.

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  7. what an imagination you have, wonderful!

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  8. Oh don't be so hard on dentists. They're usually good guys. Then again, why are adult dentists always guys?

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  9. I would love to frame this one and deliver it to the dentists next door to our spa. With whom we have a love/hate relationship.

    Superb. As usual.

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  10. I would love to be mourning the passing of the last 2 lousy dentists I had .. of course the new GOOD one is a woman, just sayin'

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  11. I have to admit I've always pictured dentists going somewhere a little less pleasant..,

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  12. This just goes to show that any subject matter can inspire brilliance....G

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  13. This is amazing, what a great short story! Every time I come to your blog I am amazed and grateful; thank you!

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  14. Wow! I have a friend who is going through to be a dentist. I should let her read this...!
    And my sil is a hygenist.
    Wayyyy too funny.
    xoxo

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