Brownie? Psyche!

You do not need to eat     you are above

eating

Eating is for the weak     the needy

not you,

strong-willed one.

It’s not that I don’t like food.

Oh how I would enjoy

scarfing down

right about now.

But don’t you dare

forsake your mission.

. . . so hungry all the time . . .

A top-down view of a plate of brownies cut in squares. It is drawn on a wrinkled torn piece of paper.

I succumb

a tiny bite of brownie

not low-fat

not sugar-free

definitely not

made with carob.

Immediately

spit

the chocolate lusciousness

into a napkin.

A brown glob of shame spreads

turning napkin clear with

grease and spit

until I bury it

deep in the trash.

Confirm my dedication.

See? That brownie was not

so irresistible

after all.

The willpower I possess

could change the whole world.

Or at least change one body,

mine.