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Nudge Theory

Pleasure

by Emily Hopkins

tw: disordered eating, diet culture

Silently, they sit at the table
Stealing my attention.
Unwelcome, uninvited,
Curdling my anticipation.


No one else seems to see them
So I ignore them too.
Make my choices rebelliously,
As if I never knew.


But they know the most delicious bait,
to lure out my old ways.
My spirit gurgles like a drain,
My pleasure is displaced.

I’ll just eat half.

I’ll run tomorrow.

It doesn’t have to stay down.

And as I think they will consume me,
A seductive scent rolls in.
Caresses me to season my soul,
Stirs me to not let them win.

So I sip and slurp and salivate,
Lick the shimmer from their grease.
Masticate their numbers,
Refuse to let them feast.

Emily Hopkins

Emily Hopkins lives in North London with her husband and baby son. She had (naively) long believed that maternity leave would be the opportunity to finally write her novel. Realising there would never be a perfect time to pursue writing, she recently undertook Write like a Grrrl’s first and second level courses.

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