Hiding

You were hiding 

Behind the counting of peas

Seven baby spoons of rice

Lemon juice on toast

Nothing fried

Meat lacking gravy

Chickens killed at midnight

Hanging from our basement clothesline

Washing oranges with dish soap

Drinking raw eggs with a straw

No onions or garlic

Pickles and olives forbidden

So many rules for food

Strange and remarkable

So many rules for drink

Equally out of sync.

 

Now the only thing you cannot hide

Is  how we learned to cope

You have wasted away

Bones supporting skin

You are a person who is  paper thin.

I have swallowed every lie

Along with many a steak and pie

I have bottled up every rule

Cooked dishes that made men drool

Kept them all inside

My armor can easily be seen  

I am not a lady who is fashionably lean