writing prompts for longing

longing is the feeling that keeps checking the door. these prompts don't try to close it — they just give the waiting somewhere to go.

• it's 2am and you can't sleep. what are you thinking about.
• what's the thing you can't tell anyone because they'd say you're crazy
• do you still check their social media. be honest.
• what song do you skip now because it ruins you
• what's the thought you have every single morning before you can stop it
• do you think about them every day still or just most days
• finish this: i just want someone to
• i think the worst feeling is being forgotten by someone you still remember everything about
• write the text you typed out and never sent. the one still sitting in drafts.
• what would you give for one more ordinary tuesday with them. nothing special. just there.
• i still reach for my phone to tell them things. then i remember.
• what's the smell that brings them back instantly. cologne. their pillow. rain.
• be honest. would you take them back tonight if they asked. no questions.
• what part of their body do you miss the most. not the obvious one.
• finish this: the worst part of the day is
• do you still know their number by heart. do you ever almost dial it.
• what did their laugh sound like. try to write it before you forget.
• i keep their side of the bed cold and untouched like they're coming back.
• what's the last thing they said to you. is it the last thing you'll ever hear.
• do you talk to them in your head still. what do you tell them.
• what date is burned into you. the day it ended or the day it was good.
• finish this: i wish i could go back to the moment before
• describe the way they said your name. who says it like that now.
• do you wonder if they're lying awake too. or if it's just you.
• what's the place you avoid now because you'll see them there in your head.
• i found their hair on a sweater i haven't worn in months and i lost it.
• say the thing you wish you could tell them right now at this exact hour.
• do you still sleep on your side of the bed. why.
• what habit of theirs do you catch yourself doing now.
• be honest. how many times have you typed their name into the search bar tonight.
• what's the inside joke nobody else will ever understand. who do you tell it to now.
• i keep waiting for a text that isn't coming and i hate that i still check.
• what did it feel like to be wanted by them. do you remember.
• finish this: the version of me that knew them is
• do you miss them. or do you miss who you were when they loved you.
• what's the photo you can't delete but can't look at either.
• describe the last good night you had together before you knew it was the last.
• i wonder if they kept the thing i gave them. or if it's in a drawer somewhere.
• what's the time of day that hits the hardest. morning. dusk. 2am.
• do you still wear the thing that smells like them. or did you have to stop.
• say it. you would still pick up if they called right now.
• what season reminds you of them and is it coming back around.
• i practice what i'd say if i ran into them. i've practiced it a hundred times.
• what's the food you can't order anymore because it was yours together.
• do you imagine them happy without you. does it gut you or do you want it for them.
• finish this: nobody warned me that missing someone could feel like
• what would you say if you got thirty seconds and they had to listen.
• i still set out two mugs sometimes. by accident. by habit. by hope.
• what's the word or phrase only they used. do you still hear it.
• do you reread old messages knowing it makes it worse. why do you do it.
• what does their absence sound like in your apartment at night.
• be honest. are you waiting for them. how long will you wait.
• what's the dream you keep having where they're back. how do you feel when you wake.
• i would trade almost anything for the weight of their head on my chest one more time.