THINGS I THINK ABOUT
by Sarah Tovey
JEALOUSY
It is pale and sickly like
dengue fever
It smells of year-old yogurt
It screeches like metal
between your molars
It tastes like lemonade with
not enough sugar
It is slimy and sticks to
soft sweaters
SWAPMEET
We have popsicles, ringlets,
and bright yellow medals
backpacks and rucksacks and
dark purple petals
We have lollipops, mullets,
and shiny red journals
nicknacks, and paddywacks,
and blue-green lapels
Enter ye fair ones, come one
and come all
Wonders await in
Maleficent's mall.
SHOES
Large
feet won't fit in dainty shoes
heavy
feet will fail in pointy shoes
Long
finger toes stick out of open shoes
Short
pudgy ones get stuck in closed shoes
EATING DISORDER
Believe me baby I know what
it's like
to have nobody nowhere
listen
Dark are the days when
nothing goes right
The answer is found in the
kitchen
Gobble it up to be coddled
at night
by the sting of the burn in
your throat
You cringe at the binge a
pathetic quick fix
for the ailment that ails
you the most
Then comes the plea to
change and get help
from family, friends, and
well-meaners
They think they know from
some book on a shelf
what you need, how you feel
why you're missing some
meals
How could they?
They don't. But I do
Last week, I fainted- no
breakfast or lunch
A boy in the hall caught my
arm
I stood and tugged at the
hem of my shirt
Sweet concern in his voice
hid my shame
Two days later, I saw him at
church
Handsome and honest, faith
draped like a tie
I prayed forgiveness and
love one more time
That Jesus would help set me
free
He led me through Monday and
Tuesday and then
I finally checked myself in
PERFORMER
Watch me light it up
Watch me lay it down
Watch me be the top in town
See me hold it in
See me blow it out
Feel applause as I turn
around
There's nothing like it
I kind of like it love it
crave it hate it
Drink it in and let it sit
Watch me bust it up
Watch me break it down
Watch me be the best around
BETTER
It's better than you
Better than ruby red
grapefruit
and Saturday morning
cartoons
Better than money
Better somewhere sunny
Let's just say it's
Better that yesterday
or tomorrow or last week
Thursday
It's better than butter and
powdered sugar on deep fried dough
Better than gold or even
platinum
What is it?
I need to get me some
It's better than color
Better to wonder
What's better?
Nothing
ODE TO FOOD
Food is good
Food is great
Food brings people together
Food is fate
Food feeds needs
Food makes everything better
Apples and pears are easy to
peel
Chocolate cake is easy to
steal
Broccoli and kale are
greener than green
But ice cream and sprinkles
are much more keen
Frosted flakes go in a bowl
and pie goes in your pie
hole
Pineapple and peaches make
quite the salade
but so do almonds and
pickled cod
Pizza and pasta like a lotta
cheese
Begonia lasagna is a sweet
treat
What's cooking?
It's chicken
the tenth time this week
Food is good
Food is great
Food is the stuff that
covers my plate
Food is love
Food leads lives
Food is food for heaven's
sake
ENG 218R- Intro to Creative Writing
Fall 2012- Prof. Joe Plicka