bulimia

These are poems about mirrors, reflections, self-image and negative self-images that can result in self-harm such as anorexia, bulimia, cutting and suicide ...

Reflections
by Michael R. Burch

I am her mirror.
I say she is kind,
lovely, breathtaking.
She screams that I’m blind.

I show her her beauty,
her brilliance and compassion.
She refuses to believe me,
for that’s the latest fashion.

She storms and she rages;
she dissolves into tears
while envious Angels
are, by God, her only Peers.

for anyone struggling with self-image

She has a comely form
and a smile that brightens her dorm ...
but she’s grossly unthin
when seen from within;
soon a griefstricken campus will mourn.

Yet she’d never once criticize
a friend for the size of her thighs.
Do unto others—
sisters and brothers?
Yes, but also ourselves, likewise.

Published by Poem-a-Day, Miss Gorilla and The HyperTexts

They say
Weight is just a number
That all it measures is
Your relationship with gravity
So then
Why am I chained to a scale that binds me?
And why do I listen to the voices in my head?
Ana said she loved me
But loving her was self-destruction
Mia said we were best friends
But befriending her was like drowning in acid
They say eat
But Ana says self-control
They say be healthy
And Mia reminds of the scale in my bathroom
All we are are hollow girls and hollow boys