The Stainless Steel Stranger (1998, un-edited)
It's a cold January night in Manhatten,
My brother's old, ripped, hooded sweatshirt keeps me warm,
Mom thinks I'm at the movies,
I sit in the special chair, waiting for the surgeon,
Pictures of happy, swollen customers cover the walls,
The essence of Listerene burns my lips,
He comes in, exchanging small talk with the guys who stand behind me,
"This is the youngest customer I've had in ten years..."
In front of me are latex gloves on clean, skilled hands,
There is a cold clamp on my extended tongue,
The tray to my left has a selection of needles and jewlery,
They stand behind me in pale anticipation and excitement,
Mark takes my right hand and Itzhak takes my left,
Mark covers my eyes so I can't see the length of the tool,
The man wipes my chin and reasures,
"Relax baby, it'll be over in a second",
I inhale and squeeze their hands,
The needle penetrates through my tongue,
I flinch and kick my legs in the air,
This highly anticipated moment isn't as fun as I dreamt about it being,
I exhale as he screws it in,
The clamp is off and my tongue rushes back in my mouth,
Along with a stainless steel stranger...
