Category: Written Promptly (Page 1 of 12)

don’t test me

November 6, 2025 / Cheney / 0 Comments

it wasn’t the argument that ended things for you,
the one you held on to and wrote about, the one
you felt was so demeaning and mean —
it was a simple question — and you wanted to give a
simple, honest answer

that’s it
that’s all

you didn’t know what would happen
you didn’t even know what you wanted
to happen, but you lit the fuse that
would eventually blast you
to smithereens

boom
poof

and all these years later we are both
asking what the hell were you thinking
to do things like that, to do everything
the … Read the rest

this small life

November 5, 2025 / Cheney / 0 Comments

this is a small life, very small,
miniature if you want more, which
is also less, and the thing is
you can’t complain

the thing is
all of this was a gift
that you didn’t ask for but
have to appreciate, or so
“they” say; you have to make
the most out of every precious moment

but i feel like a wallflower
in my own fucking life, like
i’m watching from the sidelines
as i make mistake after mistake
as i make my life harder and worse
i want to jump in and grab myself
around the neck and squeeze … Read the rest

saltwater

November 4, 2025 / Cheney / 0 Comments

you had me cornered, too shocked to
react to the words you were saying,
too scared to make them real

the same old story told so many times
it doesn’t even hurt much anymore,
it’s just jarring, it’s just one more piece
in the fresh hell of my life that I don’t
need to deal with right now

when you’re told you’re not breaking
but broken, when you’re asked with
genuine concern “Are you okay?”
this is the time to say it:

of course i’m not fucking okay,
no one is okay,
nothing is okay

I don’t want … Read the rest

the only thing I want

November 3, 2025 / Cheney / 0 Comments

In this relationship I have to be flexible,
I need to always be ready to bend if necessary,
and to make myself small and quiet
whenever I am asked.

One of the prices I pay for this relationship
is silence, my silence, my starvation for
affection and validation, and any
conceivable hope for the future.

Those I must pay for
one way or another.
One day, or not.

In this relationship I have to be ready for
cliff diving, train jumping, backflips, I
need to be prepared for the quick exits,
I always need to be ready to run.

I … Read the rest

forget about it

November 2, 2025 / Cheney / 0 Comments

Sunday morning. This was once my favorite time of week, the lazy Sunday morning
that would unfold into whatever we desired. It was the magic morning, it was the
morning I could almost count on rolling into your arms and then you rolling on top
of me. But now? Forget about it.

I thought you were my kindred spirit. I thought you were my moon and stars. I
thought you meant it when you said you’d always love me and never leave me,
but that was so stupid of me to believe. I thought you were my skin twin, I … Read the rest