Confessions of a teenage bulimic

By Tammy Ann Burley

She lies in bed at night
Thinking that it's not right.
She is fighting an endless fight.
A fight she knows she cannot win.
Her desire too strong to be thin.
Her friends had thought she had recovered.
Oh how they will be shocked at what they discover.
The lies she has told.
Her true feelings she withholds.
A need for love is what she craves.
She wants to be noticed, she wants to be praised.
She’s tired of hiding in these fake days.
She wishes she could change her ways.
Too many pressures, too many things to blame.
Ever time she’s done, she cries in shame.
Every night it’s the same.
Run to the bathroom, lock the door.
And drop to the floor.
Grabs her toothbrush and jabs her throat.
All you can hear is the sounds she makes, croak, croak croak.
Flushes her sorrows down the drain.
Gets up and walks away.
She sees no other choice.
She wants to ask for help, but can’t seem to find her voice.
She tells herself, if no one notices, if no one can tell
Then what’s the point in asking for help? What’s the point to yell?
No one can hear.
No one sees her fear.
Her confession she wishes should could spill
Her deadly secret is making her ill.
A secret she hopes to one day overcome.
But until then all she can do is run, run, run.


Tammy Ann Burley is an undergraduate student studying English. She was published in The Anthology of Poetry when she was 15, and a few other poetry sites online since then. She loves writing and hopes to continue to write throughout her life. She hopes people enjoy her work.