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The Tale of Two Sisters
There were two sisters.
One thin,
The other average in size.
One day,
The average, the youngest, said to her sister,
"I wish I was
As skinny as you.
You can do all the things
That I cannot do.
Your arms are thin,
Your waist so slim,
Your collar bones shine through.
Oh, how I wish I was as pretty as you."
But the eldest sighed, and scoffed back,
"Being skinny, beauty is what I lack!
I feel so frail,
And tiny on top.
Puberty hit, but then it did stop.
I don't have the things men want in a girl.
Oh, your body's so beautiful,
I'd give the world
To be thicker and fuller in places you are,
To fill out your clothes and leave mouths ajar,
To curve and to dip
Just over your hip.
To not have to stare at your feet
While people tell you,
'You're so skinny! Why don't you just eat?'"
"But you do!"
"I do!"
"And that's the worst part;
You enjoy what you want,
You indulge when you please,
You never have to worry about bloating!
You're so fit, and with ease!"
"But I don't like hearing those words:
'Have you been eating?'"
"I'd give anything to hear the same."
"No you wouldn't."
"Yes, I would."
"Oh goodness, no! It's so lame!
Yes, I am eating, I am not a little kid!"
And with that both sisters went silent on the fact.
"Okay," agreed the youngest,
But not give up, she would
And so, stop eating, she did.
It was hard, but she got there.
Many months a battle.
She'd restrict her caloric intake and straddle
Her waist with a measuring tape,
Day and night,
To check for change.
"You're still young,
Babyfat is not strange.
You'll lose it eventually, one day,"
The eldest sister would say.
But the youngest couldn't wait.
Little time passed but she felt so late.
She couldn't stay this way,
Not for another day.
So she cut off more and more
And more and more
And more and more and more
But it was never enough.
She felt so large.
She hated herself.
She wanted to leave.
She wanted all the weight
Gone,
Permanently.
But once she'd eat again,
She'd know it'd be back.
And she couldn't risk it,
No
No
No
So one morning, in the gym,
After she'd gotten so slim,
Her heart stopped beating,
Just as fast as she stopped eating
The second she was out of the hospital again.
And so she died.
The end.
But it's not the end, you see.
The eldest sister found herself distraught
At the sight of her sister's grave,
Her empty room at night,
The deep, dark mess that she had made.
And so, without her near,
She crumpled
And gave in
To darkness and fear.
She ate herself mad,
And stuffed her face so sad,
Until her heart too stopped beating;
The two sisters who died from eating.
(Or not, for that matter)
This poem is about eating disorders.