Don't Drink Bees

I'm tipped back
My mouth is open
It widens and closes
In response to the tools
That arrive
To scale, to polish, to spray

The ceiling is white and plain
Nothing to see there
No tiles to count

My eyes roll back
For an upside down view
Of some sort of modern painting
A plant
I think

I count the splotches
That might be petals
Or maybe leaves

I examine the groupings
Of splotches
For a pattern

There isn't one
That makes it art
I think

My eyes turn toward the light
It's bright
The water sprays
But I don't look for a rainbow

I close my eyes
Against the rain
And see dancing spots
The light was bright

My eyelids are dry again
I try looking at the dentist's face
For a moment
But she's too close
And it feels awkward

"Are you okay?" she asks.
I nod with my eyes
Then look away

Back to the light
But at the fixture this time
There's a sign there

I rearrange the letters in my head
How many words can I make?
What's the longest word I can make?
Inspector

I'm bored
How much longer?

I could pay attention
To the scaling and the polishing
But then I would notice the discomfort
Pain maybe
Or the weird taste in my mouth
Or I might have the impulse to swallow

Better to leave my mouth on autopilot
And focus my brain elsewhere

I strain to see the view outside the window
It was raining earlier
But I'm tipped back too far to see
What's happening now

Maybe I can rearrange those letters again
And make a bigger word

Maybe I should paste a crossword puzzle
Or a word search
Or a sudoku
To the ceiling next time

Maybe I should suggest this to the dentist
Once the tools are out of my mouth

"Okay. You're done," she says
The chair tips me back up

She hands me my complimentary toothbrush
And floss and toothpaste
In a plastic bag decorated with pictures
Of blue and white teeth

"Do you have any questions?" she asks

I think about my word puzzle idea

I chicken out

Maybe in six months
I'll work up the courage
To ask

Or they'll change the artwork

No need to think about it
Until the next time
I'm sitting in the dentist chair