Small;
a word engraved in every stretch mark
Like butterflies, our youth
who feast on sugar water
as though life
is a number on the scale
And isn't that what we taught them?
To be small.
And we don't say 'person',
we say 'big' and 'heavy'
we put sneers into the word 'fat'
and make it a creature to be afraid of
And when our loved ones crumble
like glass, or chalk
we are suddenly full of the love we refuse to give
we are compassionate to their struggle
because they're small.
"It's not healthy"
But neither is judging someone's worth
by the size of their waist
or the shape of their face
or the food on their plate
'Healthy'
is not a reason to hate.