- Stare into the fire too long.
- Step on a crack (do this after getting cursed by a witch; most witches will do this for free except for witches of the verdant variety—the kind that specialize in hearth & home—she won't curse you unless you break her heart first).
- Only smile at people who don't smile back, then listen to a sad song. Any sad song will do. I recommend Elliot Smith.
- Get a degree in the humanities, then spend the next ten years looking for work. Watch your student loans grow. Ivy over a garden wall. Eventually, the amount you owe is more than what you borrowed. (Note: In the end, the amount you owe is always more than what you borrowed.)
- Burn all of your journals. Do not recycle them. This would be a mistake. Your words might reincarnate and find meaning again as a cardboard box for a litter of kittens, or a bandage wrapped around the knee of a boy who fell off his bike.
- Get lost in an art museum or an ex's embrace. This will only last a day. But you can always return to what makes you break, and let it happen again.
- Make someone forget you. This is not as easy as it sounds.
About the Creator
Tyler Clark (he/they)
I am a writer, poet, and cat parent from California. My short stories and poems have been published in a chaotic jumble of anthologies, collections, and magazines.
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More stories from Tyler Clark (he/they) and writers in Poets and other communities.
A Letter to the Firestarter
Dear Firestarter, We can all see you, we've been watching you since you began. In case you didn't know we were here before you and we will be here after. We witnessed your rise, your setbacks, your guilt and your lies. We witnessed you start the fire.
By Donny Foley4 days ago in Poets
~ Fired ~
— Ai Intrusion ~ Are you Next ~ Is Ai Evolution after your job? — Few workplaces haven't been affected. Ai is in supermarkets, at doctors' offices, and even monitoring farms. I just can't think of anything this machine is not getting into, can you? For instance: Education ~ Law and Tech jobs will one day have a major influence or be taken over by these inanimate machines, with accuracy and vigor. From mechanics' diagnoses to a wide variety of everyday jobs, including fast food workers, with this input having the ability to cut their unnecessary work hours. I'm certain all of us have been touched by this with our short stories and colorful headings, have you? Even comments are very questionable 'Non-Robot' insertions.
By Jay Kantor2 days ago in Journal
Comments (1)
This is so devastating. I don’t know whether to cry or applaud.