YOLO
Cavities are the credit score
of the mouth. Ironic crowns.
When my friends say they’re broke
they still go shopping.
What can I do with periodontal disease
and lust? Mistrust my body.
Plaque moves from the gums through
the blood to the heart, apparently.
In the poverty of night,
our mouths find each other anyway.
The people still living bemoan
the timing of broken bones and tax audits.
I need this like a hole in the head
they say, and the rest of us
watch from above saying no, no,
take it from someone who
misjudged her desire for a shotgun—
nothing is like anything else on earth
and you need nothing whatsoever.
We try to show you with roadside
sunflowers and ice cold gas station
cokes and flashing headlights
but you cry in your cars
and yell at strangers.
Stop, pull over, take that photo
of the gentlemen's club against
the sunset, a tableau of soft bodies
outlined in pink neon,
glowing, striking poses,
and the mountains going blue
behind them: unflappable, sublime,
just throwing themselves at you.
Nadyja Von Ebers
Nadyja von Ebers is a former high school teacher and aspiring filmmaker from Chicago who currently lives in Los Angeles.