My dear friend M. A. Ray is launching their new blog this week. They are going to do some writing exercises and I’d like to play along when I can. Today they wrote a lovely piece which was a study in imperative voice. You can read their piece here.
Here’s mine. I already want to fix a lot of it but I have a manuscript to finish so it will have to stay a drafty sketch for today.
Don’t Be
Don’t be dead. Don’t be. Call the spirit back to your body. Open your mouth and breathe it back in. Rest with it for a moment. Let it fill up your body, re-inhabit it. Take control again of your strong hands, your gentle fingers. Your toes. Your eyes. Let them flutter open so I can see their warmth again. Look at me. Look at me.
Sit up. Laugh again. Speak words. Remind me of who you were when we first met. Tell me a joke. Tell me a story. Better, scold me. Remind me for the hundredth time that I forgot to clean out the attic. Call me the thing that never fails to spark again. I won’t be hurt, I swear. I’ll laugh the way you want me to. Make me laugh.
Get up and walk. Lean on my arm like you did after the accident. Use a crutch. Use my shoulder. I’ll carry you as long as you like, even when I get tired. Just walk with me. Come with me to the old places. To the park we used to walk. To the stream we used to dip our toes into. Dip your toes in with me. Fall asleep next to me in the sunshine. Then get up and walk with me again. To the old house. The one where we were so happy.
Have a meal with me. Here, try this cheese. Try this bread. You used to love warm, crusty bread when I made it for you as penance for a setback. Have a stack of cookies the children decorated on their own. Have breakfast in bed with me. Let the pancakes fall to the floor as I trace syrup on your—shhh, the kids are coming. They’ve come to say goodbye. Don’t say it to them. Tell them you’re about to wake up. Tell them mommy will be ready to tuck them in and read them stories just like she used to before things went wrong.
Have a drink with me. Have water have whiskey have wine. No, take my drink from me. Take the cup from my hand and pour it out into the snow. Tell me again about black ice and how you’re sure I’d be very, very slow but there’s always another driver, and even one drink takes away my ability to make good choices. Tell me again, love. I swear this time I will listen.
Okay it’s your turn now. What are you going to write?
p.s. You should follow M. A. Ray on Twitter and also read their books. Hard Luck is a great place to start and my particular favorite is Thread of Life.