Ashton Nicole Allen, Stephen F. Austin State University

They say if you put coconut oil in your mouth
and spit it out before you brush your teeth,
It eradicates bacteria, leaving a sterile smile.

I wish you would do that so your words
weren’t so gingivital when you speak
     Or better yet
let me pull out your teeth
     root by root
with pliers so you can only say soft gummy things,
     blood dribbling down your jaw.

Ashton Nicole Allen is currently a senior undergraduate student in the Creative Writing Program at Stephen F. Austin State University. Her minor is Literature and she is developing her thesis in Poetry. A native to the Nacogdoches/Lufkin community, she lives and works in the East Texas area.