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Two poems by jean lee
“(32) Teeth”
Tongue behind teeth,
jagged ridges clenched,
throat full of air,
unoxidized.
Neck bent forward, spine shifting,
shifting.
Skeleton realigned to fit
expectation.
Hands folded on laps,
closed tight in chairs,
pushed in at tables
full of people
talking.
And the tongue behind the teeth,
jagged ridges clenched,
throat swollen,
full of air,
unoxidized.
Breath through the nose,
to the brain,
out the nose,
to the brain
are thoughts in a language unheard of
here.
And with the tongue behind the teeth,
jagged ridges clenched,
throat stale with air,