what does the tooth fairy do with all our teeth? i have heard rumors she builds a castle-- sack of teeth-- brick & mortar-- wall on wall on wall-- she never gets any sleep-- she is always listening-- that muffled careful sound of tooth slid beneath pillow-- tiny snap of tendon & vein-- like feet walking through forest brush-- twig-snap-- another tooth falls without making a sound-- she often lingers there-- by a child's bedside in the hopes they will wake up & see her-- she knows she's supposed to be secretive but it's so lonely building a castle all for herself-- bag after bag of teeth stacked row on row-- she touches a child's forehead with the back of her hand she says come with me & we'll be faeries together-- she doesn't mean it of course-- she's just pretending-- when i was seven & a half i prayed to the tooth fairy & i still wonder if she heard me -- i woke in the middle of the night-- mouth metallic blood-tasting-- i poked around with my tongue to find my wiggly tooth gone-- i looked under my pillow-- in my bed sheets-- on the speckled carpet with no luck-- i sat up-- covers pulled to my neck crying for this lost tooth-- i ran my hand side to side & said a tiny prayer to her-- i didn't ask for the tooth fairy money or even for my tooth back-- i asked for her-- i asked if maybe i could just see her so that i could know she was real-- i imagined her walking along my dresser-- swinging from a coat-hanger & landing on my pillow-- i smiled at this notion-- & there she was looking over me-- a backpack full of teeth slung over one shoulder-- she sat there in the windowsill feeling the cool january wind nip at her wings-- she sighs as she hears another tooth slide under a pillow she looks my molar she swiped while i was busy mourning the emptiness in my mouth-- she observes the tooth in blueish moon-light-- rubs her thumb over parchment-colored smooth surface-- she ponders briefly what kind of food i ate -- grilled cheese at Basin Street Tavern-- chicken fingers & banana bread & steel bowls full of rinsed blueberries-- she drops the tooth in with the others-- she waits for me to fall asleep before sauntering out of my bed room-- she brushes a tear off my cheek & kisses my forehead she promises me i'm real i'm real i'm real & in the morning there is no quarters & there is still a hole in my mouth & far away in some place neither heaven or earth she kneels down-- picks my tooth out of her bag & set it in line-- another wall of her great empty castle-- she feels as if the whole structure is chewing her-- gulping down her thin body-- she is a bowl of blueberries-- she sleeps on a warm flat tongue--
Robin Gow 