These words came to mind after my first visit with the bariatric surgeon. After years of trying (and failing) traditional methods of weight loss, I'm almost afraid to believe that a tool exists that can help me shed the 200 extra pounds I've carried for so long.

Hope, once a mere flicker,
Now blazes with new glory.
"You,
We,
CAN do this,"
The doctor said,
And I believe him!
An end is achievable
To a lifetime of pain:
Painful standing,
Painful walking,
Indescribably painful
Prejudice.
I've never been normal sized.
Well, except when I was born;
But then I munched and supersized my way
To enormity.
Now, however, a light glows
In the distance
Promising salvation
If I but only reach for it,
Believe in it,
And commit to it.
Dare I?
Dare I try?