These Are My JOTtings, Part #2

Pulling Teeth

To struggle with a newer thought
is just like pulling teeth.
The Novocaine is shot and bought,
then dizzy is the wreath.

The thought of using little "toys"
to talk across the Earth
requires some numbness for lost joys,
like twirling phone cord mirth.

The newer types of music bring
some sadness to this "youth."
The Carpenters would wondrous sing
with harmony to boot.

To Google everything makes weak
the brain, that needs to search.
Like pulling teeth, through books, we'd seek
for Everest or perch.

We'd kick the ball or toss it long
as sun set in our yard,
not craning neck at screentime's song,
that vertebrae be marred.

But getting older's now the chore
we battle day by day.
The shoes require us to bend o'er
to tie with breath's dismay.

Today, the Novocaine was real.
The big tooth had its "dance,"
and, now, this pain I firmly feel
marks aging's long advance.

Line Count: 28

by Jay O’Toole
on June 29th, 2023