From the collection The Immediate and No Sooner, published in 2021.
Tanka 234
always in trouble
I think he needs a dentist
two teeth knocked out clean
it was the bicycle’s fault
says he. He is jinxed, I say
12/7/20
Tanka 235
the combatants wait.
Admit nothing. Say nothing.
Adjudication
in the principal’s office.
Playground fistfight. Two black eyes.
12/4/20
Tanka 236
What my name is not –
I never meant to mislead –
Love and acceptance
generously extended
saved me. Gave me a new name.
12/15/20
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
The first poem makes me think of my own kids. There was a point in time when every single one of them had a broken tooth – an adult tooth in the case of our oldest – at the same time. The dentist could not believe that a 4 month old baby needed emergency dental treatment. He had gnawed on table leg and chipped a front tooth. And my now 14 year old used to crack his head open so regularly that I wondered if the local hospital would issue me with a loyalty card.
My son had a broken baby tooth. It turned that gray color. Until it finally abcessed and it was pulled. OMG. And remember, I am the person who had her two front teeth knocked out in 3rd grade – my brand new permanent teeth…