FAT

.
I saw an ugly fat man
Eating chips,
His heavy bloated belly
Sagging over his chair,
And I wondered why he ate so much:

Whether perhaps his mind was gripped
By the continuing clutch
Of weak or domineering parents,
Who had not loved him as they should,
And made him sad,
When he was a little boy,
And who stifled him still,
Although they were long dead;

Or if he had lost touch
With what a man should be,
Because dreary or distasteful work,
Or unhappy marriage
Had destroyed his natural joy,
And sapped his vitality.

Then I looked at him again,
And this time did not see
Repellent noxious fat,
But a would-be radiant soul,
Imprisoned and tormented
By unrelenting circumstances;

In a next life,
If not in this,
He would be set free
To capture the God-given glee,
Which was his birthright.

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