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Dentistry student Tesia Rolle is a spoken word artist. (Bruce Bottomley Photo)

You鈥檙e at the dentist. You鈥檙e in the chair, leaning back and staring at the ceiling tiles, waiting for the question.

鈥淪o, have you flossed?鈥� asks the dental hygienist with a steely look in her eye that says, 鈥業鈥檝e seen your mouth and I already know the answer.鈥�

鈥淚 got to thinking,鈥� remarks Tesia Rolle, a spoken word artist and dentistry student. 鈥淔lossing is a little like friendship; if you don鈥檛 take care and pay attention, you end up with problems. It鈥檚 like the friend who鈥檚 always been there for you through thick and thin. But if you ignore that friend, they鈥檒l fade out of your life and when you do need them, they鈥檙e gone.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like when you don鈥檛 floss, if you don鈥檛 take care, you鈥檙e going to end up with serious problems in your mouth.鈥�

Ms. Rolle started writing and performing with the encouragement of Shauntay Grant, now the Poet Laureate for Halifax. Growing up in the St. Margaret鈥檚 Bay area and in the Bahamas, Ms. Rolle鈥檚 writing has a current of social consciousness and explores issues facing black Nova Scotians.

But her poetry has definitely evolved since she was accepted into the dentistry program two years ago. Even with her demanding studies, she鈥檚 made an effort to keep writing. 鈥淪ometimes when I鈥檓 stuck, you deal with what鈥檚 in your head at the moment and try to get back into that creative space.鈥�

Thus, "Forget Me Not," the poem about dental floss and a neglected relationship, and another inspired by her Biomaterials exam in which she relates the stress-strain properties of dental materials to the give-and-take of friendship.

A member of the spoken word collective Word Iz Bond, Ms. Rolle takes part in the once-a-month series, Speak! The evening of spoken word performance and music takes place the third Thursday of the month in the Company House, 2202 Gottingen St. Other members of the collective include Amanda 鈥淛oi N Payne鈥� Carvery, Ardath Whynacht, El Jones, and Reed 鈥渋ZrEal鈥� Jones.

鈥淒entistry becomes all encompassing, so it makes me lift up my head and get that mental break,鈥� she explains.