Poetry by LA Crompton
Saturday, June 16th, 2007Filed under: Themes, The Skinny on Fat
Poetry by LA Crompton
Diseased Culture
Looking back
on all the encouragement
and respect
and compliments
I received from others
when I was
killing myself
through starvation
It is clear
that I was not
the only
sick
one
Beauty Contest
I look around
in the real world
not the alternative reality
of the impossibly thin and airbrushed
Don’t try this at home
But at the women in my life who are
so lovely and so lively
and sometimes so Loud
All different colors
sizes
ages
and abilities
They help me appreciate
my own unique gifts
They show me that
putting down masks
makes me strong
They laughingly tell me that
making bonehead mistakes
is just a part of living
They are remarkable
posing as ordinary
instead of the other
way around
And in them
I see
the true
face of beauty
I weep alone in my hospital bed
grateful for the precious gift
of her sweet perfect body
cries out her hunger
wails for mama’s milk
not ashamed of her need
fully trusting her appetite
not even considering not trusting it
I was once that precious myself
I mourn long and deep
I cry for the miracle
of my body
which
despite all my abuse
has been redeemed
forming this new life
that I do not deserve
and that I love so much
And I see so clearly
through the eyes She has given me
How important it is
to be Brave and stay Free
Freud’s a Dick
I have always thought
that the theory
of penis envy
is total bullshit
But then
if you removed fat
from all the areas
women are constantly
complaining about
tummies
hips
thighs
breasts
we would be left
with the bodies
of men
Since gaining victory over her 10-year battle with an eating disorder, LA Crompton has been working to help others achieve freedom from weight obsession. As a teenager, she loved fashion magazines and began dieting in an effort to mimic the emaciated images she viewed as glamorous. LA became anorexic, shrunk down to a skeletal form and began modeling herself. As she turned to bulimia to maintain her unnaturally low weight, her health became seriously compromised and her life spiraled out of control. She left the modeling world in pursuit of work that did not require self-starvation and became committed to getting well.
After graduating first in her class from St. John’s University with a BA in English and Journalism, she wrote for numerous national publications. One article, written for Allure, focused on the practices she witnessed while selling cosmetics at an upscale department store. The cutting exposé she delivered was watered-down by editors and published with disclaimers nullifying her experience. It was clear to LA that the magazine was careful to avoid offending its cosmetics advertisers. She began to question the underlying motive of the glossies.
LA has shared her testimony of recovery in High Schools and Youth Groups in the New York area and beyond. After promoting body acceptance for nearly five years, her efforts were redoubled when she was blessed with a precious baby girl. She could not stand the idea that her daughter might one day look down at her perfect little body and hate it for having curves. She writes articles and speaks to mothers encouraging them to give up dieting and warning them to stop criticizing their figures in front of their children.
LA has written a book for teenage girls sharing her story and shedding light on the true ugliness of eating disorders. The book, DREAMER GIRL, consists of a series of free verse poems that explore the emotional side of weight- and food-obsession. She also creates activist artwork to help bring an end to the fabricated lie that women must be thin in order to be beautiful. Her heart remains burdened for those caught in the unyielding cycle of body hatred, but she knows that freedom is possible.
Meet LA at http://www.dreamer-girl.com.
