If Sarah Franklin Lost Five Pounds

by Abby Koenig

If Sarah Franklin lost five pounds, her life would be so much better.

I mean, she used to weigh ten pounds less and things were wonderful,

If she was recalling right.

But she’d settle for five pounds now and just being “better.” 

If Sarah Franklin could just lose those five pounds, 

She’d like her job again. 

She used to enjoy her work; she used to find it challenging and rewarding, 

But that’s when she was much lighter.

She’d probably stop waking up in tears, dreading the day ahead of her, 

Crying to her husband, who didn’t know how to comfort her. 

If she could just lose five pounds, her husband would like her more too.

Sarah Franklin gained ten pounds somewhere between 40 and 43 years old, 

All the blogs told her it would happen, but she didn’t believe them because she could never! 

She didn’t change anything: her starvation diet, her rigorous workout regiment, 

The amount of wine she drank; 

It was all the same, and yet, she gained those ten pounds.

If Sarah Franklin could lose just five of the pounds, she would drink less wine. 

Because she wouldn’t need it as much.

Her friends told her she was crazy. “You look great,” they’d say.

“Then why don’t my clothes fit me like they used to?

“You can buy new clothes,” they’d say. “That the fun thing to do.”

But buying new clothes wasn’t fun anymore; it used to be. 

It’s fun buying clothes when you are smaller. Clothes just look better.

When Sarah Franklin weighed less, she was more interesting. Filled with hobbies. 

She used to do things like write plays and garden and smile. 

She used to have opinions on things. Sometimes good ones. 

If she lost just five pounds, she could surely do those things again.

She’d stop lying in bed, binge watching TV shows about people who weighed less than her.

Sarah Franklin used to be someone. Someone who got invited to art shows and parties. 

Sure, she was younger and had more time. 

But if Sarah Franklin lost five pounds, she would undoubtedly have more time.

When Sarah Franklin was lighter, she was smarter too. 

She used to feel valued. She was valuable. 

Now she was dumb and unnecessary. She had no ideas anymore. 

Losing five pounds would absolutely change that feeling. 

She knew it to be true.

If Sarah Franklin could just lose five pounds, she would be happy again. 

Because she used to be happy, she was sure of it.

And wouldn’t taking a five-pound load off make everyone happier, she thought?

Abby Koenig has been a writer of all sorts: produced playwright, failed-novelist, semi-famous blogger for a hot minute, kinda journalist, and academic writer with several published papers that no one has read. She has directed theater and performed on the stage. She holds a PhD in Rhetoric and Communication and teaches adults a lot of things related to communication. She is also a mother of twin boys, who will be the death of her.