The Image in the Mirror

A woman wakes
and slides on her size zero clothes,
then sips a bottle of water for breakfast.
The front of her fridge yells her inspiration--
Super-models in string bikinis!
Get fit quick! articles
Daily workout routines,
but the inside stays empty,

and still . . . it isn’t enough.

She runs on her treadmill,
the speed gaining on her with every step
while the mirror across from her shows
ribs protruding,
skin stretching over bone,
and hollow bags encroaching her eyes

and still . . . it isn’t enough.

At the office, the crew orders Italian for lunch
While she chews on ice.
She knows
carbs
calories
fat.
In fact,
that’s all she knows.

That night she eats half an apple and feels so full
she shoves a finger down her throat
just to ease her fear

And still . . . it isn’t enough.

Every new fashion magazine is a standard
Every new diet pill, a necessity
Every snack food, an enemy
and she leaves so much of her mind on the bathroom scale,
weighing her every mistake--
the hunger for her perfect image eating away at her.