What To Do With The Word ‘Fat’
by Asher Martin
Bowling Green State University
Asher Marin is an undergraduate student at Bowling Green State University, hailing from southeastern Michigan. They study in the Creative Writing program and are projected to graduate in 2026. They gravitate towards poetry, but also enjoy writing short stories and other forms of fiction.
what to do with the word ‘fat’
take it for what it is.
abuse it. feed it to your dog underneath the Thanksgiving table.
reclaim it to weaponize it again. wield it against
yourself. hold yourself hostage.
embody it. carve it into your leg like a warning label,
skin splintering like paint on white cottage shutters
in that cabin on the ocean of the Outer Banks,
where the salt stung your nose and your mother
found you passed out over a wet copy of a John Green book.
hang it on the loop of your belt.
repress it.
tuck it into your waistband. feel it itch against the top of your hip
where you cut the tags off of your shirt,
unflinching, eternal, immovable. zip it into
the smallest pocket of your backpack,
in the company of glue sticks you stole
and uneaten Kind bars. silence it.
run it through the wash accidentally. allow it
to fade from your stunted object permanence.
belittle it. laugh at it. take advantage of it.
drag it a few feet with the broken trim on your
silver subaru, racing to an appointment
you should’ve been earlier to. dilate your
eyes with it.
diagnose it with both nearsightedness
and farsightedness
rendering it weak, useless, unusable, unusual. bleed it dry.
take it for what it is: a dull weapon,
a misplaced comma, a stubborn error message.
a child throwing a tantrum. leave it on the cold
hardwood floor and walk away.