by Rick Lupert
First time brushing my teeth in California
Still wearing the Philadelphia clothes
First time with the flat floss this side
of the Mississippi.
Thanks to my childhood I
know how to spell Mississippi.
There’s a toaster with a face
in my office.
Almost convinced my wife to
buy it food.
First time with the minty sensation
in my mouth since it
took a hundred days for the airport shuttle
to bring us to our car.
That toaster wants bread!
That toaster wants bread!
Just read an article about a woman
who hasn’t used shampoo in six years.
Maybe that’s the way.
Don’t do any of the things they tell you to do.
Don’t drink for thirty years.
Don’t put dead animals in your mouth.
Don’t leave a jar of Cheerios on your desk
unless you’re prepared for the surprise
every time you see it.
Breathing? Breathing?
Are you kidding me?
I get my oxygen in my own way!