WISDOM TOOTH

On its way to eruption,
My last third Molar;
Has given me, among other things,
A good bit of dolor*.

My jaw has hypertrophied,
And there is inflammation of gum;
I am afraid to open my mouth,
And have been rendered dumb.

’cause each attempt to move my jaws,
Gives me a pang of pain;
Making me the revelation:
“Wisdom is painful to attain”!

*dolor,one of the four cardinal signs of inflammation – (the other three being rubor or redness of hyperaemia, tumor or swelling & calor or warmth, as described by Aulus Cornelius Celsus, the father of Pathological Science) – is Latin equivalent of pain.

PS: The published version (way back in 1979 when I was a third year student at MAMC) of the poem, that I have been unable to locate presently, had a cartoon caricature of my swollen right side of face due to the soft tissue hypertrophy abutting on my jaw to give me a comical, wincing look!

Nap-time Buddies

Brad Pitt, my best buddy (in dreams, who I hang out with for the sake of Angie baby) is the bloke rendering the caricaturing service above. It’s definitely not me. I look infinitely more handsome (as attested by Angelina in my dreams)!

The feminine face of the wince of ‘coming of age pain’ above belongs to Paris Hilton – my wife’s best buddy (in my, not her, dreams who I hang out with for my, not her, sake)!