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Balut

When I was little
I tore out my teeth
having once seen
an imploding old man. My grandmother
said "See, that's what happens
to children who don't stand up straight,"
but she never mentioned my sagging breasts,
stretch marks, or grade school heart medication;
she just kept piling food on my plate
and so I kept tearing out teeth
'till I grinned like an antediluvian.
Now I eat anemic embryos
because their smooth bones
break against my gums
and their still beating hearts
taste like crooked nursing homes.