Sinking My Teeth Into This

I would be the first to say that I think I feel very blessed – that my life is filled with magic and treasures and odd curiosities that delight me.   I have a particular fondness for days when strange synchronicities gather and make me feel like the cosmos is winking and saying “let’s invite Deborah into a brain bend today.”

Today felt like one of those days.  A day all about teeth.

On Thursday I had a conversation with a friend who has had some teeth woes and recently had an extraction with another pending.  I have great empathy for her.  I have a history of challenging dental issues partly attributable to genetics, partly to neglectful care when I was younger, and probably a good portion due simply to the way the dice fell.

Between that conversation, the arrival of a new natural toothpaste I’m just trying out, and the fact that I have a dental hygiene appointment scheduled next week I suppose it’s not altogether surprising that teeth have been on my mind.

But what did surprise me was the three things that showed up today.

First, as I was searching through my photo files, I found this fabulous poster from the WPA era of the late 1930s, early 1940s.

I have a real love for the artwork of so many of those WPA posters – they make my heart sing.  Clean, simple, fabulous design and color.  Hard though those times were, there was great art being created.

The second thing is I found a scrap of torn paper stuck in a folded page in a pile where I stick things to journal about.  It’s sort of like a treasure box of randomness.  Things I don’t want to forget but want to spend more time reflecting on than I have in that moment.  And so into the pile they go.  Where I have a chance to forget about them and then re-discover them again.  It always feels like double the joy to me then.  In any case, what was written on the scrap of paper was a few lines from a poem by the spoken word artist Anis Mojgani.  I remember when I wrote it I had just been to a poetry slam and I was looking up everything I could find by Mojgani.

But what’s remarkable is this is what that particular scrap of paper says; this particular bit of a poem by Anis Mojgani:

“Come closer.

Come into this. Come closer.

You are quite the beauty. If no one has ever told you this before know that right now. You are quite the beauty. There is joy in how your mouth dances with your teeth. Your mouth is a sign of how sacred your life truly is. So come into it.”

Seriously, isn’t that amazing?  I happen to find a bit of a poem that mentions teeth today?!

But truly what really delights me is this led me to finding something even more wonderful.  I went online to search out some performances of Mojgani, and I was led to discover Phil Kaye, also a spoken word artist.  This is the performance of his poem Teeth.  I really do encourage you to take the five minutes and listen to it.

My heart literally cracked open.  Oh how I want this for all of us.  To let go of the hatred that keeps us separate.  It’s time.

What do you think?  What wonders filled your day?  Love Kaye’s poem as much as I do?  Share teeth issues with me?  Do tell – you know I love to hear.