A Poem of Perspective for Anorexics

By Lori Hanson

I recently connected with Andrea Roe a fellow eating disorder survivor and author. In reading her book, You Are Not Alone (co-authored by my friend Shannon Cutts) this poem reached out to me. I’ve written recently about the effects on the family and how difficult it is for them to understand eating disorder behavior.

I wrote this poem when I was watching my little sister, barely a teenager, waste away. I felt somewhat responsible for her borderline eating disorder behaviors.

 A Poem To My Beautiful Sister

 I wish I could show you what the mirror does not

It shows you a lie of your shape and your size

So you restrict what you eat

So the number on the scale does not rise.

You exercise for hours on end

You run and jump and twist and bend

You do numerous crunches, run a mile, then bike

Will this ever stop? Will this ever end?

You are so beautiful

I wish you could see

That I love you just the way you are

You are absolutely perfect to me.

I feel so responsible

For what you are doing to yourself

I wish you could see

What you are doing to your health.

Why could not you have picked something else

That you admired in me

Not the way I deal with pain

Just let that part be.

I am so afraid for you sis,

You’re getting so small

Even your friends cannot recognize you

As you walk down the hall

You are withering away

Get better, please try

If you do not
I am afraid that you’re going to die.

© J. J. S.

J. J. S. is twenty-years old and lives in Pennsylvania. She is a recovering bulimic of eleven years with anorexic tendencies. She is a college student and majors in Human Services with her area of concentration in social work and hopes to become a therapist for eating disorders and give back to people what so many have helped give back to her. If you want to get in touch with her, feel free to send an email to jjs@nullyouarenotalonebook.com

©2009