‘Teeth inside’ by Simon Alderwick

Skull Under Glass, Curiosity Shop, Paris
by Roger Camp

Teeth inside

I found four tiny teeth in my breakfast 
cereal this morning. They weren’t human, 
they were mice, I think. But it says something 
about the way we’re living when even 
the infestations are malnourished. I’m 
losing grip on reality: can’t trust 
a single thing I see or think unless 
I can touch it. But what I think is 
things you don’t want to touch. I’ve got to go 
so I throw on some clothes. You know I heard 
it’s good luck to throw teeth up on the roof 
so I do that – let the mice have them back – 
shouting: “stay out of my fucking breakfast”
at the vermin. The old girl opposite 
looks on as if she feels the same way.


Simon Alderwick lives in Wales. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Anthropocene, Ink Sweat & Tears, Green Ink, Black Flowers, Eye Flash, among others. He’s on Twitter @SimonAlderwick.


Roger Camp is the author of three photography books including the award winning Butterflies in Flight, Thames & Hudson, 2002 and Heat, Charta, Milano, 2008. His work has appeared on the covers of numerous journals including The New England Review and Southwest Review and inside the New York Quarterly and Chicago Review. His photographs are represented by the Robin Rice Gallery, NYC. More of his images may be seen on Luminous-Lint.com.