Friday, April 17, 2015

poem of the day 04.17.15

overeaters anonymous

my mother loved me

she fed me dish after dish at dinner
a heaping of pasta in three rounds
another hot dog coming out of boiling water

she kept candy and cakes
and potato chips by the dozen

the media loved me

i loved twinkies by the bushel
and shooting globs of canned cheese in my mouth
while i sat there like jabba the hutt
watching copious amounts of television

sat their contented with my evening snack
a cream horn, a huge piece of cake
a bowl of popcorn just for me

as my old man walked through the living room
singing, wasting away again in sitcomville
to the tune of a jimmy buffett song

the corporate world loved me
stouffer’s pizzas and hot pockets galore
mcdonald’s commercials and not avoiding the noid

a cocktail of sugar, salt and fat being cooked up just for me
in labs all over this great land

i ate pop tarts for breakfast every morning
until the doctor caressed my stretch marks
and went wild with rage

i sucked the heinz ketchup packets
and finished everyone’s fries

i was beyond husky
i wore sweatpants out of necessity

and those faded jeans with elastic waists

ate meatball sandwich after meatball sandwich
after meatball sandwich at christmas

because baby jesus loved me

until i heard my aunt whisper
christ, look at what he’s doing to himself

the kids loved me

a girl at school whom i liked
called me jumbo john
me and jimmy jackson played duck duck cow

on saturday afternoons
while the other kids played outside

i stood in front of my parent’s mirror
i looked at my girth, at my obesity

then i punched myself in the stomach
over and over again until i could barely stand

slapped my face
until i had red welts all over

then went and hid in my room

because more than anyone else
in this beautiful and benevolent world

i loved me

only i couldn’t yet figure out
how to express it best.

                                                


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