An ode to Previously Deprived Foods

by Bev Bancroft
(Johannesburg, South Africa)

Diets make you fear food

I'd like to take a little time tonight,
To think about these foods I write,
For the story of them is very sad,
Because - you see - they've been labelled as BAD

Back when we joined the Diet-club and paid our fees,
We were told NEVER to even think about eating these,
And though they screamed at us from the Supermarket shelf
We were brainwashed into ignoring them and denying ourself.

Chocolates and Biscuits, Ice-cream and chips,
We all swore never to let them pass through our lips,
But alas, dear souls, this problem did not get less,
For over these foods we started to obsess.

In our convictions that just one mouthful would lead us astray,

With the sanity of our minds we had started to play.
We craved them, and we bargained if we could have one more tiny bite,
We'd promise to be good and not eat them again, allright??

We piled on the guilt and we piled on the weight,
We got so depressed, and started to feel the self-hate,
Until we finally managed to turn ourselves around
And see that we were not bad people just because we were round.

So suddenly we were told we could eat them once more,
And we gorged ourselves to the brim until our tummies felt sore.

We realised that food is not bad or good, it's just FOOD
And it nourishes our body, and it lifts our mood.
So Chocolate is no longer the Demon we'd made it to be
And amazingly, slowly, we started to see,
That we actually no longer desired to eat these things,
The sweeties, the cakes and the onion-rings.

So raise up your glass, and lets drink a toast
To all those poor foods that we were deprived of the most.
We'll continue to savour them on our plates and in our bowls
And they'll continue to nurture our bodies and souls.

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