Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

Still Dieting After All These Years

So perhaps when I am eighty,
I won’t care about my weight. E-
Ternal verities will occupy my mind.
Is truth beauty? Or vice versa?
Will my health plan reimburse? A-
Gendas broader than the breadth of my behind
Will replace concerns with calories.
Global warming, teachers’ salaries,
Kurds, and other urgent matters will prevent
Whining, wailing, and oi-veying
Over what, each day, I’m weighing.
Bodywise, I will be done with discontent.

In the meantime I feel pudgy
And the arrow will not budge, de-
Spite how lightly I try standing on my scale.
I had hoped to not begin this
Brand-new decade hooked on thinness
But it seems my weight obsession will prevail
‘Til I’ve finally banked my fires,
‘Til my vanity retires,
‘Til I’ve given up aspiring to size eight,
‘Til I scorn a foolproof diet.
Could I actually not try it?
Maybe ninety I won’t care about my weight.

-Judith Viorst