His Wooden Teeth | Teen Ink

His Wooden Teeth

October 1, 2008
By Michael Duteau BRONZE, Webster, Massachusetts
Michael Duteau BRONZE, Webster, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Never was it a time too soon
That needle hanging from the loon
The scary smile on his face
He breathed through nostrils with disgrace

I took it as a humble deed
To help him through his violent need
Another day he came on through
But then the next, he was doomed

I felt the need to scratch his itch
Yet he told me he had the fix
I watched as he struggled and failed
To help himself; no avail

Encompassing the pits of hell
His ego surpassed what he could tell
A mind so large it overcame
The coordinates of his disdain

It only seemed like he was worse
Each day I had returned in course
He had a new cut for me to see
And he picked at them disgustingly

I found some pleasure in trying to help
Even when he acted as a whelp
The childish essence of his face
Brought me a sense of irreverence

I felt no shame in taunting him
With nothing but his body on a limb
And soon it seemed like he would break
It took only days for me to take

When all seemed well, I thought I’d helped
But then he threw it off the shelf
The casket burning, where he lay
Was nothing more than another day


The author's comments:
This poem was written based off of my own personal experiences. Both the "loon" and the person trying to help him are different reflections of me. It basically describes my own struggle with manic depression and how, even though I know I need help, I refuse to accept the fact that I do need help. And even at times, I would ridicule myself, thinking, "Why was I so depressed that day? Why am I so depressed in general? This is nonsensical." The title is interesting, too. Not once does the narrator mention these wooden teeth, but it is because he never sees them. The wooden teeth symbolize an outward depiction of the "loon"'s innability to confide in others. It is also an internal problem, that he is horrified of, and, therefore, does not expose.

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