Overweight girls don’t have many dates
My mother told me when I was 15
You might never get married

The diet doctor prescribed appetite-controlling pills

When I was still so hungry
Mother said, “Eat some lettuce”

I knew lettuce wouldn’t fill the emptiness in my stomach,
or in my heart.

Miriam Stein is a social worker, writer, and the author of Make Your Voice Matter With Lawmakers: No Experience Necessary. See more at makeyourvoicematter.com.