From dollars to doughnuts,
From lips down to hips,
From dancer to daydream,
From snug to "not fits."

Crumbs on her chin,
Crumbs on her cheeks.
How could she have done this?
She'd been so good for weeks.

Gaunt had gone the gullet,
Tiny went the tummy,
Resolved and absolved,
Of all that was yummy.

So too went the fruits,
The veggies and meats.
Away pushed the table,
Only compliments for eats.

Her mother was worried,
Her father, quite proud.
But the mirror was spiteful,
Keeping her mindful and cowed.

What would it say,
When she came home all plump?
Why bother to try out,
Just to fall on one's rump?

She put the shoes down,
Along with her dreams.
Her fingers were still sticky,
But her shoes would stay clean

_______________________________

Lyenuv suggested I draw a Hippo Ballerina and as often happens with me, a scene presented itself in my mind. A young hippo girl, stressed and pushed between ballerina shoes and the depressingly reliable joy brought on by an assortment of doughnuts. I admit, the idea is terribly somber, but in my mind, it is actually a positive poem. She may or may not have lost out on her ballerina dreams but on the plus side, she won a temporary respite from anorexia. Another year, a healthy diet and a bit of help from her mother and who knows what might happen?