The Diet

[atiguhya padma]

I stand here
Looking through the window
I tell myself
You need to approach this thing
Like a Buddhist
Taking pleasure from abstention
Self-negation
(Who are you trying to fool?
Says another voice,
Since when did Buddhists
Seek pleasure?)
Ok. Well just imagine the satisfaction
You will have
On the first bite of sweetness, doughiness
Months from now.
Of course you don’t really desire this
Do you really?
Were you to eat a cake now, the pleasure
Would be less,
Far less intense, than if you were to eat a confection
Next year, say.
(I can’t believe I just said that as if
I believed it!)
And so I stand in front of an audience
Of bakewells,
Frangipans, Lemon Drizzles, Ginger, Carrot
Wonderful cakes,
And take a final bow, a fond farewell. There shall be
No encore.