Maya Angelou’s “The Health-Food Diner” is a satirical poem
poking fun at the avid healthy eaters of the world. She places her true
opinions at the end of each stanza ad in parenthesis, undermining what she
previously stated which, for the first four stanzas, is related to healthy
foods. She ultimately contrasts healthy and unhealthy food, painting healthy
food in a more negative light. A change occurs on line 1 where “to” is the only
word and is placed at the end of the line. It creates a pause and signals a
shift in view. It is after this line that she expresses the food she likes to
eat, not the ones she should eat if she were to be a purely healthy eater. The
rhythmic pattern of rhyme scheme adds to the satire tone, where it almost
sounds like taunting. In a way, it could signify the plight of a healthy eater,
where unhealthy foods can be taunting at times. The rhymes are seen not only at
the ends of lines but with in lines too, such as “kelp” and “help” I find it
interesting that the foods she chooses to call unhealthy are all meats. This
goes along with her using the word “carnivore”. Even so, she makes being a
carnivore sound better and more appetizing than eating healthy. For, those who
watch what they eat “are thinned by anxious zeal”. So, Angelou ultimately arguing
that is better to eat what you want and enjoy and be whatever weight you are
than to be stick thin and not enjoy the food of the world. I found the poem to
be very light hearted and even funny, quite a different tone and message than the
majority of Angelou’s poems. It was easy to understand and a nice poem to read.
