they told her she was too fat
and she digested every word they said.
they told her she should continue with her diet
while she indulged in their toxic words.
they ask "have you lost weight?" and pat her on the back
while she swallows her words and pastes on a plasticine smile.
"you don't need a diet, you have the perfect body" they utter
but she is already drinking litres of water to suppress the wails from her stomach.
friends and family caution her and attempt to nourish her
when she is a walking arrangement of bones wrapped in skin with tufts of wispy hair.
she has eaten up every word they say ravenously
and with every chewed up syllable
each bone becomes more pronounced
for she has digested everything
but sustenance.