Wasp Waist

by Yael Veitz

elly stinging with longing, 
she waits a little longer 
holds the dizziness. 

her friends have all done it. 
It nearly killed some of them--
late-night binges 
fingers in throats, 
groping their bellies. 

she thought she was immune
until her high-school waist expanded, overhanging
 her panties in         amorphous slopes

even now, she resists the inevitable.
she won’t count calories
she has no scale.

she thinks it’s just a dalliance,
refuses to admit she’s joined the numberless rank
of hungry girls, expanding, imploding

like collapsing stars.

---

Yael Veitz is a New York-based poet. Her works, which have appeared in Coffin Bell and Castabout, among others, reflect her geographically-diverse background, her work in mental health, and, occasionally, her love for her cats. Her debut chapbook, ‘Wilder Centuries’ will be published in 2022 by Fifth Wheel Press.