the earbuds are in the wrong ear and
the music sounds distorted and out of place and
i’m regretting drinking so much moscato be-ca-use-it-was
too damn sweet and i don’t like sweet wines,
though i also don’t like tangy, tart wines
that coat the sides of my gums and under my tongue
with thick, grapey syrup that grows from the dew of the grapes,
or so i assume,
i don’t actually know anything about wine/grape growing,
but don’t tell me,
i don’t want the surprise to be ruined
when i wear my rick and morty t-shirt,
my dental hygienist smiles and says she also watches the show,
but it sucks that that guy, you know that guy,
the one that does the main voices, or maybe just rick’s voice,
did all those skeevy things,
though i guess it’s not too surprising,
she says,
since when you think about it, there are a lot of historical figures
that are considered geniuses even to this day,
like,
she says,
apparently, isaac newton liked to masturbate during lectures behind the podium
while talking about gravity,
though she doesn’t know if it was specifically about gravity, or just any ole topic would do,
then she tells me that she’s finished cleaning my teeth,
and she reminds me that i need to floss more,
and i’m confused as to whether she was comparing that guy that does the voices for
rick and morty to newton,
or vice versa,
but either way,
i told her i’d try to remember to floss more,
as i rubbed the contour of my upper gums with
the tip of my tongue, and tasted lead leaking out and down my throat
Fred Aiken Writing 