Maya Angelou’s “The Health-Food Diner” Explication

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.