Overweight

I always stand naked
in front of the mirror,
compare my body
to the slender teenage bodies
of Seventeen Magazine.
[I'm really fat.]

Every day at dinner time,
Dad complains
about customers
getting off the taxi
without paying,
Mom talks about how good
her Avon sales are going
while I look at my stomach.
[So big.]

I stuff my napkins with
chicken, mashed potatoes, bread, beans
and feed these to the dog
under the table.

As I get up,
the table, chairs, Mom, Dad
spin around my head,
I lose my balance.

I'm carried on a stretcher
from the ambulance
to a bed in the E.R.-
nurses feed my body through an I.V.
[How many calories does it have,
will it make me fatter?]

Hi mom...Dad.
Oh honey, how pale and skinny you look.
[Can't she see my chubby cheeks?]

Don't worry honey,
everything's going to be okay now.
[No it's not...I'm still fat.]

Amy, please tell us how can we help you?
[Doesn't he see my bulging stomach?]

Why can't you understand?
I want to be thin.