Metaphoric to Sink Your Teeth Into

A friend recently said
poetry is like a tube of toothpaste.
That’s it, that’s all he said.

I told a friend that this friend
said this about poetry
and she said, that’s ridiculous.

Perhaps, but I get it.
Once poetry is squeezed out,
you can’t put it back.

Once a person writes a poem
they become a poet.
Once a poet, always a poet.

Once a poem is read,
you can’t pack it back up
and shove it into the tube.

No cramming your words
back in when they are set free
spread wings and fly.

And, anyway, why would you want
to stifle inspiration, flavored and
fluorided to prevent gingivitis.

Next time you hold that tube
in your hands, think about how
your words will be minty fresh,

your verses scrubbed to remove tartar
of dull words and lackluster images,
similes like a bright shiny smile, and

promote oral hygiene, reduce the plaque
of quotes that plague your epigraphs
with common clichés.

Next time you squeeze that tube,
imagine newbie poems waiting to fill
your mouth and mind with dentrific brilliance.

~ J R Turek
June 27, 2020
Hour 5