body of war

not true, but...

i am

120 pounds.

it might sound normal

but it's not.

 

my stomach

balloons

into handfulls

of flab.

my thighs

look like

someone's

paper-mached

ten layers on

a normal girl's.

don't even

get me started

on the arm-flab.

 

i am

100 pounds.

it might sound normal

but it's not.

 

my bones are more

pronounced,

and that's a

good thing

but i can do better.

i haven't eaten breakfast

in years

but now i've

skipped lunch

completely

so my parents

don't ask

if something's wrong

at dinner.

 

i am 95 pounds.

 

mom says she's worried

i wonder why.

she always used to hate

the way i looked.

 

i am 90 pounds.

 

they sat me down

and forced me to eat

a slice of pizza.

i almost puked

but didn't want to

freak them out--

i almost screamed,

too, choking it down.

 

i am 85 pounds.

 

(i threw up the pizza

when nobody was home.

i'm constantly in motion.

only eating dinner

every other day.)

 

i am 80 pounds.

it sounds thin,

but it's not.

 

i can do better.

i can...

Reviews

[Felix Soto]

i love the short stanzas it makes the words in each line more important it felt like day to day portray of girl with a eating disorder. i also love how you lower caps the "i" to make the narrator feel more insignificant

[GlamGirl]

This is amazing. All the struggles are portrayed here. I like how you included "it might sound normal, but it's not" in the first two stanzas. Very good work!

[spence]

Excellent method of raising awareness about a condition that is on the increase due, in my opinion, to media imagery of perfection that young people are taught to aspire to. I considered suggesting adding something about reasons/motivation, (such as an obsession with looking like some movie star, pop idol, etc) but I think it might spoil the 'introspective' elements that make this such a powerful piece. Well done, spence

[Lyzzy Redd]

This is very disturbing, the true thoughts of an eating disorder. The way the stanzas lined up made that more pronounced. Well done.