I hope I'm not the only one who finds this amazing....Maryanne I'm so honest and always have been when I say I'm jealous of your writing. Your poetry is almost like something ripped out of a journal..a story, whether true or false, told in such a poetic way....what an amazing description of the every day struggle millions of us go through....food is tempting...and it becomes one of the biggest problems in America....and how you can take that and not make it a sad depressive poem, or a funny one, but make it totally misc, and desribe EVERYTHING you have described, from the tile, to the change in your body, to the addiction..I dont know I just found that totally awesome...It was almost like you were talking about a person..but it was food...

Dang good girl...always good work coming from you!

I agree with chelsey. I do not know how you write like this but wow. I think we all do have an addiction of sone kind and I used to struggle with food as well and still do at times. This is a topic thats hard for a lot of people to handle. But you wrote about a lot of different things here. The childhood part hit me hard as I understand that part as I don't remember it well. I do love how in your poems you seem to connect with issues in this world and not sound mean or harsh that takes true talent. The title is also an eye catcher because you wrote about food and the kitchen is the first place you think of course. Great connection and great poem.

Kitchen is a place with never ending possibilities of food. To have them or not and how much is left to us! You have penned an issue which many of us face and that too with visuals one cannot forget..good job!

Congrats on the win :)

Judges comment:

This poem has such serious content, but due to the title I would've have no idea where this was going (which isn't a bad thing!) I love how this writer brings such a message to her poetry, especially something like this. So often we tie our images to our self worth, and the yo-yo begins, as well as the esteem. This journey she's placed in front of us was very heartfelt, very vulnerable, and lovely read. That ending truly gave me chills -- so often we let food control us, isn't it funny? Some people don't have that problem, but I know I do, and it's sad, frustrating and really overwhelming sometimes. This poem was a shot into my own life and I relate so well to this poem. Keep up the writing on things like this, keep the awareness and keep the message. It's a struggle, but it doesn't have to be

Judge's comment:

This was, undoubtedly, one of the greater poems I have read in a long while, and something different from this author, and the poem spoke volumes to me. Everyone has some kind of addiction, be it positive or negative and Mary-Anne conveys this in such a way that everyone can relate to this poem even if the addiction in the poem isn't also the authors own addiction.
The imagery in the first stanza alone just screams out to the reader, the poem begging to be read and emphasised with.
"Live to eat or eat to live?"
This kills me inside. After spending several long years of my life repeating this phrase, I understand only too well the struggle written about in this poem, as I'm sure many others will be able to also. Such a short little line and yet it packs such a punch that it holds almost as much emotional power as the rest of the entire poem.
The last two lines, were in my humble opinion, the best way to end this poem. It shows a spark of hope and positivity. It may not have been proven yet, but the author wants it which is the first step to doing so; as long as she wants it then it is possible to achieve.
Remarkable piece