A poem by Jess Cohen, illustrated by Ollie Powell.
It started dipped in sadness
And grew swollen into a sickness
That I cradled
Proud of how it was coming to look on me
This is how it’s meant to be
This feeling
This adult addiction
Finally has found me
I knew it was likely we would meet again
It’s not hard for me to plan ahead
To prepare my feeling
The feeling of thin
This is how I want it to be
You look at me
and notice
Not this thing you couldn’t like
But the new, the improved, the feeling
Because who wants to see
A person filled up in flesh
When they can glance as
A skirt sinks in between hips
Or as a jaw
Cuts away from the body
To cast a shadow
Across a veil of skin
Everything is telling me
So I’ve always known
Growing up gives you the space
To shrink back down
Now here’s the day
Underfed
And I am
What I’ve worked for
You look at me
I am thin
You look away again
And I am half of what I was before
Some people are made like they belong in fairytales, almost too kind and good and lovely to be true, and that description fits both members of today's poet and illustrator duo. Jess Cohen is the wonderful author of 'feeling thin'; a sombre poem of thoughts that haunt us, and Ollie Powell, the talented illustrator whose work accompanies Jess' words. Hold tight for our pending interview with Ollie!
Credits:
Images: Ollie Powell
Editor: Amira Umar
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