You thought this whole “not eating” thing
was bullshit,
I know

Said “I’m worried about you”
Said “If you’re not going to eat,
don’t tell me about it,
at least”
and I swore to you that I’m trying
but here it is,
an inconvenience

My mom seemed to never eat
either/too
I thought it was just a thing
moms did

Then you’re yelling at me
in a grocery store, in the frozen food aisle
beside a bin of bags and bags
of tubes of popsicle juice
red and purple and blue and childish
on sale for the summer
because I won’t make up my mind
and I say I feel dumb (ashamed)
and I say it’s not about the ice cream

And later, you tell me, it’s funny:
you have these same fights with your mom
She says it’s not about the ______
it’s about the way you bite

But it’s true,
our latest series of fights
is all about food