My addiction began with my braces
The pain they brought bothering me as nothing
Compared to the agonizing torture inflicted
By bits of food packed between my teeth
Entrenched between these metal cages
Their presence drove me out of my mind
Before braces it was as if I’d never heard of dental floss
Or if I had, it was as foreign to me as toothbrushes to hens
Never having flossed prior to this cementing on of chains
I would spend upwards of a half hour after each meal
Passing the floss through each tiny, contorted space
Deriving great pleasure from each minute release of pressure
My orthodontist marveled at my assiduous hygiene
Listened patiently each month as I would describe
Innovative ways I’d found to pass the floss
Over, around, and through each type of crevice
I know now he was probably thinking about his golf game
Or the palace he was building in the gated hills above Honolulu
But he’d mastered a look of interest that made me feel
I wasn’t babbling one step beyond the border of insanity
Nowadays, I must carry floss with me wherever I go
Turn my car around and speed home if I’ve forgotten it
Because you never know when you may chew
Something somewhere that will drive you crazy
Lanning Lee 