Member-only story
Imogene’s Notebook
Teeth Like Dragons Breathing Fire
A poem with 5 stanzas in a tanka format
Fiery dragon teeth
flames blazing from every breath
scorch my sanity
tormenting without mercy
my scalded pathetic mouth.
Cruelly kept captive
in the wicked pits of hell
I beg for a salve
which oozes between my teeth
yet the burn does not subside.
A woman’s crazed voice
inside the dragon’s chamber
calls out for rescue
but the words only echo
and perish within my throat.
A witch doctor’s pills
tiny bits gulped with water
fail to have impact
destroying expectations
that they’d be a magic cure.
Determined to thrive
I open my arsenal
for slaying dragons
with courage as my weapon
and a heart imbued with hope.
All my front teeth have been stinging and burning constantly for over a year. Special toothpaste hasn’t helped and doctors found no cause until a neurologist called it “neuropathic pain.” Drugs prescribed so far haven’t worked but I won’t give up!
Many thanks to Imogene’s Notebook for providing a home for short fiction, microfiction, and poetry.
