Winning Words: If Only on the Outside/If Only on the Inside

Gale E. Weithers
The ArtsEtc NIFCA Winning Words Anthology: 2019/2020, Cover.

 

 

If only on the outside
I am fat
so I cannot accept that
I am worthy
I know deep down
my bulging belly labels me obese
and I see
my heavier hips generate the most stares
I realize
my body is riddled with cellulite
and I understand
the mirror can only present its truth
I acknowledge that
my value is measured primarily as a number on a scale
so no one can make me believe
I am beautiful
if only on the inside

*Read in reverse, from bottom to top.

Gale E. Weithers (Silver, 2019) is a retail programs manager, responsible for customer service training program development and facilitation across more than twenty countries. In her spare time, Gale blogs and writes poetry and short stories, for which she has received several national awards.

The ArtsEtc NIFCA Winning Words Anthology
Barbadian Literature
Caribbean Literature
poetry