Article body
V.
The final tier consists of processed food [*]
Vegetable ink makes my guts grumble
Nose cracking the spine of a new book or film festival catalogue
Ink licking cinnamon buns high fructose mayonnaise
IV.
throw out four full jars
peanut butter and jam fail the nutrition ladder
tier III: the “Swiss tier”
whole wheat toast climbed to the “happy tier” (II)
stuck for six years up at tier V with grilled cheese and bacon
“eating only from tier one and two will give you a near-perfect diet”
III.
vegetable oil is tier V but I file ink at I,
newspaper at II.
maybe III for thicker bond.
a list of tier I foods that give me heartburn:
cucumbers, avocados, honeydew melon
“you want to maximize the nutrients in every calorie you consume.”
lick the ink off my fingers
leave blue smudges on the fridge
a lemon cake, one tier or three is still up at V
no listing for coffee cake means
two slices for breakfast
tier II: espresso and muesli
II.
Chew the inside of my lip all day and don’t gain an ounce.
I would list gums no higher than tier I.
The first tier contains food choices that are the healthiest
Skin mouth to stomach balances out.
Swallowing half a gram of loose lip
“raw, steamed, grilled, poached, baked, or broiled”
better than 40 calories of celery
Cuticles, nails, thumb edges
add bananas (tier II) for an
itchy neck
I.
tier I items I couldn’t identify in a line-up:
amaranth, endive, collard, natto, spelt.
Amaranth: a language spoken in certain parts of Asia
Collard and spelt both have something to do with mining.
Endive is a new enzyme in fifty-five dollar face cream from behind the counter at Shopper’s Drug Mart and I could scoop natto into a plastic bag and seal with a twist tie in the corner store candy aisle.
The cap of my pen sits up at III
hard plastic
slip and cut my gums
have to up my iron intake
switch back to pencil for a lighter snack with more fibre.
Appendices
Biographical note
Kate Hargreaves' poetry has appeared in Filling Station, Room, Carousel, Rampike, Windsor ReView, and Off the Coast, and is forthcoming in The Antigonish Review. She is currently writing a poetic nonfiction manuscript dealing with her experiences as a roller derby skater with an emerging Ontario league.
Note
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[*]
italicized portions borrow from “Climb Michi’s Ladder,” http://www.teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/michis-ladder
Appendices
Note biographique
Kate Hargreaves Les poèmes de Kate Hargreaves ont été publiés dans Filling Station, Room, Carousel, Rampike, Windsor ReView et Off the Coast. Des poèmes sont à paraître dans The Antigonish Review. Elle travaille actuellement à un projet de récit poétique qui traite de ses aventures en tant que patineuse de roller derby dans une ligue émergente d’Ontario.