starters / prompts taken from hieu minh nguyenâs work , not here . feel free to change pronouns / tenses as necessary .
 â it seems important to mention all the things that went wrong â
 â donât ask if iâm a ghost â
 â i fled and did not return â
 â i cannot love you , if i love you , i will die â
 â for years i chose death â
 â i belong to my motherâs fear â
 â what do you do with tenderness when all you expect is fury ? â
 â he looks like he will keep you safe â
 â any love i find will be treason â
 â why did you bring me here ? â
 â i count the hornets that escape their mouths â
 â i only ask for your laughter â
 â look at me in the old way in this new light â
 â sometimes i wake up and my body does not follow â
 â it wasnât the same without you â
 â iâm still trying to figure out what it means to stay â
 â itâs all very predictable â
 â how can i love something that isnât ruined ? â
 â like all agony , there are pleasant moments â
 â i want to be better at lying â
 â iâm afraid if i say it out loud i will cast a curse â
 â some men donât know theyâre hungry until they eat â
 â some spells take years to cast â
 â there are rules you have to follow if you want to survive â
 â i know youâre not supposed to smile back â
 â madness , too , can be cumulative â
 â trying to forget is not the same as leaving â
 â i really should get a sense of humor â
 â i understand no one â
 â i cannot stop him from disappearing â
 â her body was a dress i hung for motivation â
 â you were once and perhaps continue to be the myth you tell to scare yourself â
 â there are countless ways to justify company â
 â you are predictable in your longing â
 â i donât want to explain a thing â
 â i knew if i just asked him to leave he would have â
 â there are countless ways to open a carcass â
 â all iâve ever wanted to be was useful â
 â thereâs still time to be saved â
 â shut up ; i know the story , or at least the lesson â
 â you wont find it ; you wonât find whatever youâre looking for â
 â i could get away with being clumsy with knives â
 â i want to study the mechanics of leaving â
 â any adjective can be true if you cry hard enough â
 â i see little futures in the distance but none belong â
 â i am beginning to forget what i expect from the world i always knew â
 â you canât think of regret as a town you move too when grief snores too loud â
 â in death we belong to everyone â
 â i want to return to my old body â
 â i think the life i want is the life i have , but how can i be sure ? â