You Don'T Diet When

You Don’t Diet When… You don’t diet when You “shop” at a food bank With never enough for tea. No readies for treats, No lattes or sweets, Nothing extra for you or me. You don’t diet when You live by a gutter, A newspaper lining for sheets. Sleeping bag if you’re lucky, And a patch not too gusty, Or moved on to another street. You don’t diet when Your kids play truant, Get pushed into gangs and take drugs, Use knives, lose lives, Live outside the law And make you feel desperate and sad. Copyright Emily Joshua