Perfection Poem by Lynn Stillman

Looking at the magazine covers,
in the checkout line at the grocery story.
Thin, perfect movie stars, the latest diets
then recipes for the fattiest cakes and cookies
galore.
No wonder women struggle and strive
for the ideal face and body weight.
So they suffer in silence
as they try to binge and purge,
the image of themselves that they hate.
Maybe they think it is the only thing
that they have control over,
to be the perfect mother or wife.
They see the emaciated models
on the catwalk, but that red carpet,
and black tie world are simply not real life.
Slowly, they transform into living skeletons
but the image they see is distorted,
like a carnival funhouse mirror.
So they keep starving themselves
believing that to the ideal woman
they are drawing nearer and nearer.