Up and Down

Over the long haul, our weight went up and our self-esteem went down. ~ The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous (Kindle Location 161)

Mother told me she could glance
and know the status of my life —
the heavier, the more miserable,
the more lacking in pride,
in confidence, in peace.
We broadcast our recovery
like our defeat, in shapely skin
but more in ease, in joy, in serenity,
in confidence beaming through
lives at long last lived with dignity.