I can’t remember ever wanting food
when I get out of bed to start my day.
My father said each breakfast should include
both milk and protein. Mom tried every way
to tempt me – cereal and breakfast shakes,
jelly omelets, eggs potato-packed.
It never matters what the kitchen makes;
I’m just not hungry then, and that’s a fact.

Three hours have to pass before I eat.
Perhaps I’m burning ketones overnight
and longer, for my fast is not complete
until a half a day has passed. I’m quite
appropriately hungry then. It’s what
my stomach wants; I feel it in my gut.