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A Yorkshire poet makes a patient, slightly exasperated, entirely heartfelt case against his partner's diet. He has read the books. He has jogged alongside her. He has eaten the cardboard called crispbread. And now he wants to go on record: enough.
In ten lines of warm domestic comedy, Morrison arrives at one of the simplest and most beautiful declarations love can make. Just six words at the end that say everything — I want not less but more of you.
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Against Dieting
Please, darling, no more diets.
I've read the books on why it's good for one's esteem.
I've watched you jogging lanes and pounding treadmills.
I've even shed some kilos of my own.
But enough. What are love handles between friends?
For half a stone it isn't worth the sweat.
I've had it up to here with crispbread.
I doubt the premise, too.
Try to see it from my point of view.
I want not less but more of you.
Blake Morrison
We share poems in good faith and with full credit. A Letter to the Poets →
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