An oral poem
We cut our teeth on each other’s lips
your love gripped
and rotted away
as tooth decay
in the corner of my mouth
reclining back in the dentists chair
here, in this place
I’m acutely aware
of the colour of my ceiling
the buzzing of the tools
drilling deep into the depths of my being
the dentist, all seeing
I, neck back, puffed up like a toad
pathetically gagging on my own saliva
just to fill this feeling with this filling.
© Darius the Mate
Written for dVerse: Poetics.
The challenge today, I which I particularly enjoyed, was to compose a poem without putting pen to paper – in this way, we explore the Oral Poem – now written, attached is an audio recording of the work in spoken word.
I decided to play on, and continue, the ‘oral’ theme in my poem, taking inspiration from the inspiration.
A thank you to Ingrid at Experiments in Fiction, for hosting today’s prompt.
What is life without community? I would love to connect with other nicecissists out there. Reach out, let me know what you think in the comments, and of course, give me a follow for more – nice!
Wordplay Pathway
nicecissist 
Ughhh… too vivid!
Wonderful writing. 🙂
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I really appreciate the review, Kate. 🤩
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It’s just so beautifully horrible… 🙂
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Wow, Darius… those last 3 lines are killer.
❤
David
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Thank you, David 🙏
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Oh the torture of list love. Enjoyed your voiced as well as your written versions
Much❤love
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Thank you, Gillena, that means so much!
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I love your voice, delightful accent, poetry … not certain whether to laugh or cry! Cheers!
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Thank you, Helen. 🙂
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Perfect ‘oral” poem, Darius. Hope that nasty rot was removed. Enjoyed your tale and the recording.
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That you so much, K. Hartless!
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Fantastic, the reading and of course the clever writing!
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Thank you, Unplugged ☺️
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You are welcome.
You can call me Punam. 😊
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So clever, Darius! Great imagery.
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Thank you, Merril 😀
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You’re welcome! 😀
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As a person who has been in the chair a time or two you describe the experience excruciating well, all the more vivid with your reading. I like how you opened the poem which lets the reader know it’s more than just torture.
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Thank you, Lisa 😇
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You’re welcome.
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How clever, an “oral poem” complete with tooth decay and buzzing tools. I could hear it and definitely feel it by the end. Well done! 👏👏
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😋 Thanks, Tricia.
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Oh this is incredibly brilliant, Darius! I especially like; “just to fill this feeling with this filling.” You absolutely rocked the prompt! 💝💝
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Thank you, Sanaa 😄
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Oh dear, this took me straight to the dentist’s chair!!
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Nice one, Darius!
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Thank you, Lucy ☺️
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Ouch… the feeling of this filling… but the drilling before really is something
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😅
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Oh, this is a stroke of brilliance, Darius! From the emotional pain of a relationship turned sour, to the physical pain of the dentist drilling into a nerve. That last line is fantastic: the play on words between ‘filling’ and ‘feeling’, and even the similarity between ‘fill’ and ‘feel’ when that word is spoken aloud. The recording really added to my enjoyment of the poem, thank you!
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Thank you Ingrid, that’s the best review I could have hoped for! 🤓
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I love this! What an excellent metaphor. The imagery is so amazing
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Thank you so much!
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