We live in a society that is obsessed with thinness, which often shows up under the guise of “health” and “fitness”. So, when we overeat – which everyone does occasionally – we might be wrought with shame about our bodies. Kara Jackson, a young American poet and musician, captures this feeling in her poem titled “anthem for my belly after eating too much”. Jackson tells the story of her relationship with her belly after one such occasion of feeling that she has overindulged. While acknowledging western society’s preoccupation with excess, Jackson also acknowledges the importance of this part of her body and vows to protect it. Thanking our bodies for what they do for us, rather than loathing them for how they look, is one way to improve our relationship with ourselves while also defying the expectations of society.

“I look in the mirror, and all the chips i’ve eaten
this month have accumulated
like schoolwork at the bottom of my tummy,
my belly—a country i’m trying to love.
my mouth is a lover devoted to you, my belly, my belly
the birds will string a song together
with wind for you and your army
of solids, militia of grease.
Americans love excess, but we also love jeans,
and refuse to make excess comfortable in them.
I step into a fashionable prison,
my middle managed and fastened into
suffering. my gracious gut,
dutiful dome, I will wear a house for you
that you can live in, promise walls
that embrace your growing flesh,
and watch you reach toward everything possible.”

– Kara Jackson

Image Credits:
Feature Image: Jon Tyson, On Unsplash, Creative Commons