POETRY WEEK 2025 CONTEST
Second-place
BY SHARON LEE SNOW
Copyright is held by the author.
I was angry all the time. And when
I looked around, all the other fat
people were angry too. That myth
of jolly fat people. Us clowning
for your amusement in big bow ties
and floppy shoes. Suspenders stretched
taut over roly-poly bellies. The butt
of the joke. Startled more by this
than the bum-rush of aging — Mother
Nature — you bitch.
My closet full of slim pickings.
The dancer’s leggings that last year
clung to an aerialist’s body, a form
made strong and light for flying.
Tailored skirts, pencil thin that twirled
at the end. The tiny Navy blazer
that won me a job, protected me
like a shield. This new freak show.
Week-by-week losing
ground, trudging to the fat store,
my size increasing incalculably,
by some diabolic calculus. Stuffing
clothes with tags in bags in closets,
obsolete before they’re worn. And ruffles
now and polka dots, big-top
dresses to hide a life’s production
of shame. Working out with sore
backs, scarfing snacks without a chance
to say stop. It’s enough. In this circus
I play a well-earned role. Look, I never
had a fat friend. We just knew
we would get the boy, get the
job, hold the tiger by the tail
and not get bitten, never
look in the fun-house mirror
to see our mothers looking back.
***
A multiple Pushcart nominee, Sharon Lee Snow earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. Her award-winning short stories, creative nonfiction, and poetry have been published in Jelly Bucket, South 85, Gulf Stream, and other journals. She currently lives in Tampa where she teaches professional writing to college students and works on her poetry collection. Connect with her on X and Instagram @sharonleesnow and her website www.sharonleesnow.com
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