Just so, Monday became Marvelous Monday,
and then Terrific Tuesday, Wonderful Wednesday,
Thrilling Thursday, and so forth.

It was indeed a Thrilling Thursday yesterday as I sat
in the dentist’s office, awaiting a tooth extraction.

Like the rest of this body, the tooth had served me
well for nearly seven decades, dutifully performing
as it had been designed without any complaint.

Now it had decayed to the point where extraction
was called for, and though it clung to the gum
with inordinate resolve, it eventually let go
and surrendered to the dentist’s devices.

But no, this is not going to be a trite sermon
on impermanence, or the grace of letting go.

Everyone knows that nothing really lasts,
least of all these fragile bodily components
which we’ve cumulatively taken to be ourselves.

Today, we can’t deny that Autumn has arrived,
the skies are grey, fallen leaves cover the ground.

I sit here now with a swollen jaw, while out there,
resting in some medical waste container, a crumbled
tooth is humbly murmuring, “Om Namah Shivaya.”