The dentist asks if you grind your teeth if school is stressful. You say maybe I grind my teeth that would explain the squeegee sound in my sleep. But I do not blame it on external circumstances. I cannot complain I have so many choices I mean so many opportunities. I mean opportunities to choose well I mean correctly I mean in a way that is authentic to who I am but also correct. From a personal wellness perspective or a personal finance perspective or an admittedly impulsive personal aesthetic perspective. As well as a hard won though still somewhat dodgy personal ethical perspective. Not to mention a local economic perspective or a global supply chain perspective or a politicosociocultural perspective. The dentist says hey if you need to stack lens like that try seeing an optometrist. You laugh. You say when I am buying carrots right. Do I buy the orange rocketships taking off into Bugs Bunnies. Or the stunted orange thumbs we are told to identify as babies. What about the multihued thumbs palingwallpaperyellow or inkwellpurpleblue. An entire color wheel of carrots inspired by the accoutrements of Victorian residences. Sure those are spendier but maybe they support ecological diversity better. Maybe they say to others who see it in my basket I eat ugly produce. The uglier the better the more virtuous the more correct the less people ask about the pork rinds that say I am cool with wasting the fourth smartest animal we have after chimps dolphins and elephants for a boost of dopamine and cholesterol. The dentist says if you are worried about cholesterol see a doctor. In the meantime wear a retainer. You say wow an optometrist a doctor and an attorney on retainer accredited professionals really watch out for each other. Laugh like a squeegee.
Stephanie Yue Duhem is a 1.5 generation Chinese-American poet and educator, currently studying in the New Writers Project MFA at UT Austin. Her chapbook Name and Noun is forthcoming from Selcouth Station Press. She can be found online at www.sydpoetry.com.
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