Take a bite of my bad girl meat,
you said, how were we to know the cost?
Show me your teeth.
I want to, but they are gone.
We shredded carrots,
radish, pickled
beets for garnish, lay your flesh
beside. Salted
the wound. Shared bites
of your bad girl meat.
The next morning they are gone.
I dreamt they fell from my mouth
like quarters from a porcelain pig.
My carpet’s speckled with enamel,
my tongue curious,
all those hollows.
I should have had more
calcium, prepared
for you, read the research
on bad girl meat. I’m lucky.
The others lost fingernails,
cartilage, entire bones.
Take a bite of my bad girl meat,
You, always ordering, knowing
We will listen. Show me your teeth.
I sleep with mouth open. Maybe they will return.
