Toothless Wander

Grandma's lost her teeth again
We checked the dog and cat
In case they’d thought
To borrow them
For chewing gristly fat
No dentures in the shrubbery
They’ve really gone to ground
We hunted through the kitchen
Turned it upside down.

We did find
Tooth marks in the butter
Tooth marks in the wall
Tooth marks in the candlewax
And Peters' tennis ball.
Indentations in the door-jamb
Gnasher prints in the soap
We followed the trail
Like super sleuths
Clutching at last hope
Of cornering the roaming set
Before teatime was due,
Mum had made a great big pot
Of steaming beef ragout.

At last we found my brother
He’d taken them to play
Grandma's gleaming pearly whites
Now green with modelling clay.

04