Tooth Dream

By Heather Myers

They hung
from the roots like a swinging
light bulb, burning fluorescent white.
They broke off into pieces that shone
like the iridescent side of seashells picked
from the sand. I tried to replant them
back into my gums, packing them tightly
like flowers into mud. They dropped
like snapping elastic bands.
Everyone around me laughed
as I frantically tried
to insert them back in
like coins rejected by a vending machine.