Teeth

 I think that I shall never eat

Some beefy goodness , gummy treat.

 It’s me with hungry mouth is pressed

 Against the bowlful porridge sweet.

My  buds  that crave for food all day

And gums so swollen with dismay.

 My teeth that may in two years wear

A smile that sparkle in mid air.

 Upon whose bosom wires have lain

I intimately live with pain. 

Braces needed by fools like me

God only knows when I’ll be free.

 

Here’s original poem  entitled TREES by Joyce Kilmer

 

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,	5
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.	10
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

 

Manila American Cemetery/December 2010