'Gold in My Ramen' by Donal Mahoney

​Gold in My Ramen
 
It’s your anniversary so
you’re thinking steak
but your wife wants ramen
so you go to a nice place
and order the fancy ramen
which comes with radishes
cut up to look like rosebuds
and costs as much as steak.
 
You slurp away with
the best of the regulars
until a gold crown falls
from a molar into the ramen.
Seconds later another
gold crown falls off as well.
The next day the dentist says
you need new crowns.
The old ones won’t fit.
 
He tells you the new ones
will be made of zirconia.
They'll cost $900 each
cheaper than gold
he says in consolation.
 
In shock you ask him
what do the homeless do.
He says there’s no ER
for dental work but
he’s heard about
a retired dentist
must be in his eighties
who goes into the city
one Saturday a month
and does charity work.
He needs help
your dentist says.
And more folding chairs
in the waiting room.
 
 
Donal Mahoney