Melvin Earl Rice IIIis a 4th year creative writing student at California State University Long Beach. He currently resides in Huntington Beach, CA where he writes poetry, fiction, and non-fiction essays. To read more of his writing and view his drawings, photos, and other art visit: www.embarrasstheelephant.blogspot.com/

morning. (July 20, 2011. Issue 29.)

I woke up at 8 with a headache and blood on my neck
and now I'm looking in the bathroom mirror,
picking the teeth out of my teeth.

The dental formula for any normal human
is 2:1:2:3.

That's 2 incisors,
1 canine,
2 premolars,
and
3 molars,
per each half of the mouth,
top and bottom.

Multiply this formula by 4 and you get 32.

32 teeth.

My estimated dental formula this morning is 2.1:2:3:2.1

Multiply this formula by 4 and you get 32.8.

32.8 teeth.

The dust particles of what used to be teeth,
former tools for tearing and grinding
assorted fruits, meats, and veggies,
sour candy in the shape of little children,
are now an annoying powder and when
mixed with my saliva, a paste that coats
the inside of my mouth like smoking Pal Mall Cigarettes.

I'm chewing on chalk.