I have decided to be fat.
I am going to eat a snickerdoodle,
	two snickerdoodles, and after
	the last crumb's swallowed I
will not run until my knees twist.
I will walk slowly through the heat
 	and drink up birdsong.

I have decided to be fat.
Butter and cheese belong with grits,
	and if you do not fry the hash browns,
	are you really living? I will
sweeten my iced tea with honey, roll
the broccoli and Brussel sprouts
in olive oil, split dark cherries with
	my tongue and
	suck out the scarlet.

Saturday scones and strawberry preserves,
Cat's cradle stir-fry in the wok, and I
	have decided to be fat.
I will float in soft dresses,
	wave my inked arms, sing
		when they are silent,
nourish the blood bursting
	from my red pulsing heart.

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Author’s Note: This poem plays with food words, swings its stanzas around, celebrates. This poem is on the move! This poem is a toddler bouncing around with their hands full of birthday cake.

Sophie Farthing (she/her) is a queer poet and artist living in South Carolina in the USA. Her work has appeared in outlets including Right Hand Pointing, Beyond Queer Words, Impossible Archetype, and Anti-Heroin Chic. She is the 2024 recipient of the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Poetry from the SCAA.