How can I describe it in words?
I can’t.
The dentist has taken an x-ray
Examined the x-ray
Probed with her prober
Tapped teeth on the right
Tapped teeth on the left
Tapped the gum above.
“Can you describe it in words?” she asks finally, looking slightly defeated.
Words?
Well, sure. Of course. I do words every day.
I am a writer.
Not tingly. Not painful. Not throbby. Not warm. Not cool.
Not stabbing. Not murmuring. Not humming.
Not like a cello. Not like a piano.
I don’t know how to speak like a dentist, I say finally.
She nods.
Not like a violin. Not like freeway noise.
Not like a crowd of rowdy schoolboys.
But, sensitive.
Like a nerve not right.
Call me for sure if it gets worse, she says.
Not like leaves in the breeze, I think…
Not like anything wordy…