A Tongue of Teeth

I feel a piece break loose
Use my fingers to pull the crown
It’s so white, tiny, broken
I put it in your hands

Another pearly shard comes out
Gritty, sandpaper tooth underneath
They don’t come together the same
Ever again.

More and more separate
Until my mouth is full
Of sterile scrap metal
A tongue of teeth

There’s no saliva or blood
Only white ceramic hardware
Crumbly mounds grind as
My jaw rests shut

I’m disgustingly satisfied
At all the tiny fractured pieces
Of my life