A Poem About Eating Disorders

She lay on a hospital bed like a pale rose wilting on a pillow sham
done were her days of counting every morsel of food and gram

they told her if she stopped eating she would cease to live and die
feeding tubes inside her nose, she stared into an anemic blue sky

knowing that her final breath was near, she took her mother's hand
as tears spilled on her hair of gold, she whispered, "mom, I can't "

the girl who removed the chaff from the wheat no longer had to eat
they placed a large sheet on her tiny frame tiny little feet

later as she lowered to the ground all of life just went askew
an invisible waif had flown away without a change or point of view

scent of green tea, honey, vine, moss and fruit, finally empirically ground
flower songs of beauty, she ate and drank, without making a single sound

as she lay on a cloud and watched the sun go down, it was the final call
she felt thin, she felt beautiful, she wasn't hungry, no, not at all ...

April 30, 2021