Chapter 12 of 22

interlude

[regular pain, different love]

am I sick

she asked

and my heart

broke in two

no

you're not sick, darling

but i hear voices in my head

don't you?

no, darling i dont hear voices

i think in pictures and paintings

then what do i think in?

darling, you must think in poetry and fairy tales and novels i cant begin to explain

these poems, they scare me

yes, darling, your poems are sick. you aren't sick. but you just have to learn to shape your poems into ones that are less scary.

im not sick?

not at all darling. having a sickness does not make you sick.

-falling asleep reading i never promised you a rose garden