Jennifer Jackson Berry: Fat Girl at Weight Watchers Meeting
I’m supposed to tell
everyone I’m dieting
& give away pants
as they get too big.
They say if you feel bad
about your loss, go to
a grocery store, pick up a bag
of sugar, of flour, 10 lbs.—
that’s what you used
to carry around your middle.
We clap for lost quarters
of pounds. This is the first time
I’ve lost more than sticks
of butter. When I slip,
when I cheat, I try
to imagine the alternatives.
But I fear the canula—
that lipo tool, long
like a princess’s wand.
The doctor thrusts in & out
just under the skin
like fast sex & the sucking
in like a little girl’s gasp
when she sees a prince.
Copyright 2016 Jennifer Jackson Berry.
From The Feeder (YesYes Books).
Republished in Vox Populi by permission of the author.
