At dinner parties, don’t breath a word of your daughter’s achievements But rather tell them how she went from size 12 to 6 in 2 months A+ grades doesn’t matter if she doesn’t have A+ looks It’s useless if she could rule the world but not the hearts of men When bragging her to her aunts and uncles, bring a weighing scale— always Put it in the centre and with a smile, ask her to step on it, guide her if you must Let them gawk at how she’s the perfect 100 and how she never heard of spandex Turn a blind eye once she steps away and tear her perfect 100 test paper to shreds Remove her accolades and artwork scattered around the living room Mount before and after pictures of her for people to see instead Greet her with a nod and a smile as she skips dinner tonight Ignore sounds of barfing and wailing from her bathroom floor Latin honors will never bring her family honour, remind her constantly What is the use of a trophy if your body itself can’t be the trophy? An hourglass figure is better than an hour spent in class That could be used for another sweating in the gym lifting brass No muscles but be curvy, but not too curvy to be called fat Wake your daughter up and serve her a scolding for breakfast How she shouldn’t sleep but rather she should out run your gun How the man she loves would leave her if she’s not a size one Tell her always and with heart and consistence that it is for her own good Shout and demean her but only do so if it’s coming from the bottom of your heart That her worth is in theory and chalk, scales and mass, flesh and muscle Not in skills nor dreams that are only whimsy and fleeting in comparison Lastly, always think that if your daughter’s not picture perfect — she’s useless If her frame isn’t the frame that Magazine Photoshop wants to frame She’s a family shame, not worth your time nor your dime to pay Educations smeducation when her looks are not worth people’s infatuation For all that matters in life after all is the first impression The books that are worth reading are the one’s with the good cover The goodness in other people lies on the surface and not within And the weight of the world would lessen if you lose a couple yourself
Raising your daughter through the weighing scale
