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Feb 16, 2021Liked by Cath & Steph

Breath comes ragged

Shoulders sagging

Under the weight of collective harmony

Keep the peace

She must

See the splinters

She does

The world view isn't you

But

It must be

Lay the boulder at my feet

Let me help you see, help you carry

The weight of who you should have been

I am your brace

Follow my light

Wander my way

Walk in my shoes

Feel my soul

See your light

And

When you arrive

We fall

You have been here before

You know the steps

You know the act

There is no fall where boulders don't rest

And so the climb begins again

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author

i love this!! the rhythm!!

"Keep the peace

She must

See the splinters

She does"

also "There is no fall where boulders don't rest" is a great line

-steph

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thanks, v inspired :) Thank you both for putting all these fantastic prompts out. I love where they take my mind.

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late reply, but that's so good to hear! let us know if there's a particular aspect of the prompts that's helpful, or if there's something you'd want to see more of :)

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Thanks y'all so much for the prompt this week! I ran with the first one as a little stream-of-consciousness piece: https://thefixtape.substack.com/p/citrus

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Ironically, To All the Boys I've Loved Before <3 :)

I loved your silence

The way your absence ripped our intertwined fingers apart like sweet challah

And how your twinkling grin always justified the grief

I loved your anger

The daily ritual where your dimmed heart sucked dry an almost infinite supply of kindness

And night after night your faults became mine

I loved your insecurity

The part where you hated yourself so much you saved me

And how my departure justified your denial

I loved your hesitance

The compromise where risking my pain was far more justifiable than yours

And the conditions that had to be satisfied for you to be

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late reply but this is SO POWERFUL omg

"The way your absence ripped our intertwined fingers apart like sweet challah" is a rollercoaster of a line

also love the way the sounds emphasize the irony (hated / saved, grin / grief)

tysm for sharing! <3

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very late to the game, but still wanted to share :)

this piece is half inspired by my own experiences/half inspired by the tragic greek myth of achilles and patroclus

--------------------------------------------------------

"patroclus"

chocolate-stained stolen kisses in a too-small bed

dark bruises splattered across the canvas of my body

songs echoing a whiplash laugh carved out of me

burning eyes squinting to find a lost path home

//

a war cry ringing in my ears

breath stolen by heart wrenching grief

a broken body dragged across the field

half of me vanishing into a dark hole, rotting with sweet-smelling death

//

days blurring endlessly past

reaching for a hand no longer there

unable to collect the love that spilled out of me

aching for my other half to click into place

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author

this is so powerful, ty for sharing! love the sounds ("a broken body dragged across the field / half of me vanishing into a dark hole") and the imagery ("the canvas of my body") <3

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