Draw a line between two teeth.
Test each gum—remind it with
what force it needs to meet the string
and, knowing, it will keep its strength.
Each tooth, too, is glad to feel
this brief dividing: care for one
small part’s a small but crucial sign
of care for all. Makes possible
an opening in thought, where time
slips, and what might be set aside
can set a spell. All else will come,
will press its dross onto the mind.
So stay, and floss. Let remembering
be the waxy string, the line it draws.