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This writing was accepted for publication
in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book...
Hands that Hurt
Down in the Dirt, v145
(the May 2017 Issue)




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Hands that Hurt

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Random
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(pheromemes) 2015-2017 poems
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of select poems written mid-2015 - mid-2017
during her first years living in Austin, TX

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(pheromemes) 2015-2017 poems

Questions and Tension

Janet Kuypers
6/8/16

My stomach’s sort of in knots.
I mean, I feel this tension —
I know most people lose them as teens
but I always kept my wisdom teeth.

Apparently my mouth was big enough.

Now, after all this time
one tooth’s finally cracked,
so they schedule me in for an extraction.
An extraction. Even the name sounds messy

for removing a bone from my body.

So yeah, I’m feeling a bit nervous,
asking questions like mad to the staff.
Looking at x-rays, roots and nerves are straight,
so they say don’t worry, then bring a big needle

and tell me to open wide.

And after they inject me over and over,
I wait twice as long as they say.
The doctor comes in close, tells me not to move,
and I don’t know if it’s the drugs

they shot me with,

or if it’s that medic inches from my face
breathing my air, exhaling into me,
if that’s what’s making me feel
even more dizzy. So he says don’t move,

and he starts to tug. Pull. Even twist.

But not thirty seconds pass
and they say it’s over, as they give me
gauze to stop the bleeding.
It was over that quickly,

they didn’t even give me any pain medication.

And all I could think was that
taking a bone from my body
was far too easy. I mean, if you
drugged someone enough, could you

remove all of their teeth like that?

Thirty two bones, just a little tugging,
and to stop the blood use extra gauze.
While you recover you can’t use straws
‘cause sucking will split the sores.

I don’t know, maybe it was the drugs,
maybe it was that dentist sharing my air
and exhaling their waste down my throat
that made me wonder if it’s that easy

to pull out many little bones, all at once.



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