the salad

you point at her mouth and say,
spinach, you have spinach
in your teeth. a big leaf.
you point at your own teeth
to give her an indication
of where it is.
she does something with
her tongue,
then holds a spoon up
to see her teeth
reflected in the curve.
did I get it all.
no, you say. there's
some onion too, I think
it's onion, it might
be a water chestnut,
or celery.
okay, she says,
working her gums and
mouth around. how about now.
ummm. you're making progress,
but I still see some arugula,
and maybe the skin
of a cherry tomato
stuck in there, right
in the front.
and in the back, it
looks like romaine
lettuce with some shredded
carrots. she takes a gulp
of wine and swishes
it around, then opens
her mouth. how about now?
well. it's good enough.
you got most of it.
should we get dessert?