Stage One - Denial/Honesty with myself
March 30, 1996... Four months into anorexia

What am I hiding from you?  You think that I honest, but you've heard nothing but the truth. Let me expose just a glimpse of the real me:

I have a side you never see. My thoughts revolve around one thought - unworthy.
I have a heart you've never seen... so dirty, filthy, and unclean. 
I try to escapge from my feelings of jealousy, unacceptability, and insecurity.
I have a conscience you don't see... so guilty, full of lies, and dishonesty.

You say it's so plain to see:
God loves you. You're his. You're holy.
God made you in his image, perfectly.
I can't deal with that statement because of its simplicity.

Secretly, unexpectedly, mysteriously, silently,
the drive for thinness overcomes me.
I starve myself trying so hard to become skinny.
I don't see the harm, what's wrong with me?
I'll search, seek, and unconsciously fall.
I'm chasing the wind. I'll never catch it, but I must persist.

It's not a matter of what YOU see.
It's a matter of what I need - perfectionism. What I think I see.
My mind, my thoughts, and eyes deceive me.
I get so confused that I don't know what to believe.
They tell me that I'm not pretty, not good enough.
I get so distressed I don't know who to trust.

Once again, I put my mask on, so secretly, mysteriously.
Trying to overcome the problem. 
My mask hides, covers, never reveals. It does its job well.
I know, I feel, I come face to face with the sin, the problem, but I continue to ignore it.
It has no severity.
Once again, my actions I justify.  I'm not doing anything wrong, just trying to lose weight, not destructively.

It's not a fantasy. This is reality. This is me.
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