Black Tooth Blues

as the music drips

like a frothy honey

from my ancient speakers

with an Esquivel orchestrated group

of violinists and percussionists

you can find me

pulling on my black teeth

with nimble fingers

and a lions persistence

agony…

I hold you with great tenderness

and you

in return

never leave me

alone

no matter the suns direction

or the moons cheesy

coldness

you

…my sweet pain

are addicted to me

as I was once to cold beer

and cigarettes

and today

all I need is

the warmth of liquid

oral anesthetic

and a cotton ball

to shove inside my

blinded mouth

which has long ago

risen the white flag

but

so far

this music that I play

has risen like an

Jesus miracle

and looking down I notice

that I have as well

(…good tunes

can do that to a man)

so I undo what I earlier did

and I pull it on out

to find it

growing like a liars fabrication

and smiling

I bring a tear to its eye

and so

spent and finished

I spit out

one more black and rotted tooth

(nightmarish)

into a teacup

I leave next to my empty ashtray

for such purposes

and the music

rests

and puts up its feet

after bringing us all in to a gigantic climax

pain..yes

without a doubt

but it’s a livable misery

and alone

I take it

on the chin

and move on to the next

solitary record album

which will greet the needle

with a smile

as I too

am grinning

and bearing it all

again

for another day