On the question of Jonah, whales, and the weight of a woman
by Cassie Premo Steele
I've never connected with Jonah. That big whale story. Swallowing. Fear of the sea. All that. I guess it's because I've been fat. I am the Jonah. I scare men with my abdomen. Belly. I love to eat. I love meat. Chewing. Caramel. Craving. The salt. The fat. The sugar. Popcorn has been my Communion. I take it nightly, like Holy Bread. But not with wine. I like beer. I don't have much fear. Of food. Of being big. Of the ocean. I swim in these things. They are me. They are good. I wonder if God fears Jonah. Or women. Or bellies. I doubt it. Maybe he should.
Cassie Premo Steele's poetry has been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize and has been published in over a hundred journals, anthologies, and magazines. She is the author of eight books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and specializes in poetry that reveals the natural world as a source of balance and empowerment. She works as a writing & creativity coach with clients in person and long distance from her Co-Creating Studio along a creek in Columbia, South Carolina. Check out her website.
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