Dieting is no easy job.

It eats at your resistance like

Easter candy, long gone stale,

Tucked away in last year’s basket.

I yearn for a choice piece of chocolate,

Nougat or caramel crème or a

Generous slice of dark chocolate torte.

Those things are no longer my fare

Housed within my body are too many

Ounces of fat cells, to the point of

Ugliness, obesity, just plain fat.

Gaining another pound cannot happen.

Having the will power to succeed,

Trying once more to drop sizes,

Success will come my way.

I hope.

The thing is, candy is alluring.

It calls your name, over and over

Until you have no choice but to sneak a bite

A piece, a chunk when no one is looking.

Guilt then overwhelms.

Why did I sabotage myself?

I’m a strong woman, I tell myself.

I’ve overcome emotional and physical abuse.

I’ve suffered chastisement from my employer

For simply doing my job.

I’ve raised three amazing adults

And been married for decades.

I read and write and do puzzles.

But yet I can’t walk away

When a simple piece of candy,

Or a perfectly baked cookie,

Or a slice of peach pie,

Or a spectacular bowl of ice cream

Appear, like magic.

1. Will. Try. Again.