Written by Ellis Elliott. Inspired by “Ode to Fat” by Ellen Bass and the Academy Awards Ceremony

“Weebles Wobble, But They Don’t Fall Down.”

To my newly widowed friend,

her breath shallow

and heavy as an anvil

in her chest every morning

when she wakes up

to learn, once again,

he is gone. To the child

underground beneath

the shelling overhead,

standing on the wooden

desk singing. To the nurse

whose mask etched open wounds

on her face, showing up early

for her next shift. To the Junior

Miss Arkansas contestant stumbling

on the long satin hem of her dress,

and her bow upon standing.

To all with the grace

of a Weeble wobbling,

somehow remaining

upright.