Teeth

At the top of the gravel driveway, it was easy to find shark's teeth.

Sifting through the tiny scraps of rock, there'd be one or two. 

Some days hunting was luckier, and there'd be more.

These were excellent treasures. 

She'd learned to kiss with braces and imagined her wires tangled with a boy's,

which felt like marriage in a future she didn't know yet,

but she was hurtling head-first toward it. 

Any blue-eyed boy would remind her of a feeling she expected to have.

She was a first-generation adult to keep her original teeth, 

and held on to this as a point of pride. 

At night, I dream my teeth are crumbling in my mouth. 

I swallow them. I reach into my mouth and pull out more and more.

There are only a few left, and I am so ashamed.

The teeth are made of the hardest substance in the human body,

but they can be dissolved with sugar.