sugar free candies

you dread
the dentist,
the needle
the drill
the scraping
and probing.
those brilliant lights
overhead,
the smell,
those instruments
on the tray
gleaming.
the flossing
inquisition.
oh, and then
the bill
as you stand
there numb
and drooling.
but you like
the little
blue sugar free
candies
they give you
in the end.
they'll hold you
until you get
the real stuff.