the dentist

she starts off pleasantly
enough, how are you,
you look well, vacation?
but then it quickly turns.
you haven't been flossing
have you. i can tell.
you should floss more,
i gave you some,
remember?
then the cardboard slots
go into your mouth
for the x-rays. that mole
on your head, i thought
you were going to take
care of that last year. i
gave you a number.
what happened? are you
going to your mother's
for mother's day? she asks.
but you can't answer on
account of the cardboard
pinching hard against
your gums. so you
shrug. you only have
one mother you know,
she says as she slips on
her lead vest and hides
in the adjoining room
before pressing the red
x-ray button. we all just
have one mother, she
repeats coming back into
the room. she pulls out
the cardboard, as the drool
and blood drip down
your chin in strings.
she mops it up with a
cotton ball, then holds
a syringe
up in the air. you
can see the steel tip
glistening wet. your
eye begins to twitch
and your hands tremble.
i'm not drilling today,
she says, but i'm going
to give you this shot
anyway for not flossing
and for being mean
to your mother.
open wide.