IV.
(a) Nothing gets out of hand if it was never
within reach. Nothing goes down in flames if it was
never high up. Nothing is rocket science if we’re
usually more complicated. Nothing’s wrong with a
fish out of water if it looks delicious on my plate.
(b) You can’t speak of the devil without
recognizing an angel. You can’t turn a blind eye when
the other is looking. You can’t cross a bridge when
you come to it if we’ve never built one.
You can’t score brownie points without
vegan and gluten free options.
V.
(a) How am I supposed to make lemonade when life
only gives lemons but not enough syrup to mask the
sourness? How can you let someone off the hook when
they’ll drown without clinging to it? They took the bait for
survival. How can you give the benefit of the doubt when we
both know who’s lying? How can I give you a taste of your own
medicine when it has only ever worsened our symptoms?
(b) Beating around the bush doesn’t matter when the
elephant is already in the room. Barking up the
wrong tree doesn’t matter when I’ll always be a
dog to you. Judging a book by its cover doesn’t
matter when you leave me to collect dust, taking me
off the shelf only when you feel like it. Beating a
dead horse doesn’t matter, unless that’s your
idea of attempting a resuscitation.
VI.
(a) You say blessing in disguise, when you mean
shit happens—accept it. You say think outside the
box, when you mean any escape is confined in my
imagination. You say the ball’s in my court to
evade responsibility. You say all’s well that
ends well to brush aside all our mistakes. You
say good things come to those who wait to hide
dreams deferred. You say all good things must
come to an end, but nothing about a good ending.
(b) A rule of thumb is always misleading, like the
thumbs up you give me. A million bucks looks
nice until it makes your heart
envious. Best of both worlds is a
perfect compromise but really you have the best of
neither. A bird in your hand is worth
two in the bush, except when they’re
dead. A walk in the park is as easy as being alone is
hard. Hitting the nail on the head means you’re
right, but at what cost?—the nail is now unconscious.
VII.
(a) No, two peas in a pod aren’t close—just
look at us. No, I can’t
take it with a grain of salt—that’d
sting my wounds. No, I can’t
wrap my head around it—it’s not
flexible enough, okay? No, I won’t
spill the beans because I’d prefer to
keep them tidy. And
(b) yes, I will cry over spilled milk even if it’s
not worth it—after all, the milk is spilled, is it
not? Let’s see how happy you are when your milk is spilled.
Empathy is understanding how spilled milk feels. And
yes, having a method to your madness means knowing
when to take things literally, and who gets the last laugh.
— Alistair Lam
