My Cardboard Balcony

Pumpkin Face by Belinda Roddie My cheeks ache as if they've been carved to bits by something serrated. You try to call me beautiful, but I think that word's negated. My molars are sunken like orange pulp; my eyes droop like the dickens. I may as well be left to rot and pecked away by chickens. They call me Jack, but I suppose that Joke is more appropriate. In the late October evening heat, I guess that I'll just acclimate. You stick a small fire in my jaw and let me glow in twilight. My job is to entertain the kids whom to your door you still invite. Their teeth will fall from their heads, too, after all the sweets and candy. So if they end up looking like me, well, that'd be fine and dandy!

Oral Oddities by Belinda Roddie Look at me! I collect teeth! I was a dentist once, you see. I pulled out molars with utter glee and kept them in a jar meant for cookies. I like the canines and incisors the best, arranging them so I don't make a mess. I shine a light behind the glass so it glows at night like pearly brass. My mother is afraid of me, and my dad, to forget, drinks heavily. But I don't mind being considered eerie; I'll always collect every skeleton's teeth.

by Belinda Roddie Once upon a time, on a cold and rainy day in Philadelphia, Jocelyn Desmond Morton and Christopher William Morton celebrated their marriage and I got to be the matron of honor. I also gave a speech. Aaaaaaaaaaaand that's all you're getting out of me today. Congratulations, Jocelyn and Kit!

Haven't been able to get OneWord to load on my computer or phone. Oh, well.