Echoes -- and a poll!

Today’s draft is inspired by old patterns and releasing layers and layers of shame. It astounds me how much time can be spent listening to Diet Culture, and how much more life there is when we can let it go.

If you want to read more about releasing Diet Culture, I highly recommend you follow my friend Malik on Medium.

The way I guard the purchase of a cupcake,

curling myself around it as I leave the store.

The way I hide it behind my back

when another person passes me as I walk home.

The way I eat it with the blinds pulled,

mind empty of anything but the bitter taste

of manufactured sweetness.

The way I bury napkins, crumbs, wrappers

underneath the coffee grounds —

In this I recognize the 40-years-ago voice

shaming me for pleasure in the taste of warm cookies,

of cheese pizza right from the oven,

of yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

This echo follows me,

looking for a place to be alone with me,

to vibrate my body to the rhythm of its taunting.

I am starting to go back and edit some of these drafts, trying to put them together into collections where they can live and grow together. I’d love to hear your ideas about topics, and about how poetry exists in your life. Here’s a short (3 question) poll that I’d love you to answer: