by Murray McCartan

Children tightly aligned
together and repeatedly told

to stay in their rows will
eventually wiggle to loosen

the limits of their fixed position.
Each juvenile coup taking root

in a flight of bloody
delight, a hubris journey

pursuing a sweet identity
until corrupted by cavities

of love and loss, each mid-life
crisis of decay, complete with mundane

compensations of crowns
and fillings, and the aging

permanence of grinding teeth.

 

Image: black and white by Cassey via Flickr.