How To Have An Awkward Conversation

Imagine & accept that things could be worse.
You could be dead.
The sun could be falling towards earth.
Donald could be re-elected.
Or if that doesn’t work,
consider a slightly less dramatic scenario:
You look like a fool
or she looks like a fool.
Awkward silence.
You say something stupid        (apologize).
You can’t reach a compromise
            (it was worth a try;
            Step 2: duel it out.
            Or let it go).
You fracture your relationship
            (get a hot glue gun).
You completely decimate your relationship
            (either you really     
                    screwed up,
            or you bit your tongue
            for too long.
            Either way, you did this.).
Accept it. Move on.
Or if that doesn’t work,
you could try something novel,
like honesty,
and say you feel strange, unprepared,
like the right words have been misplaced,
            (they’re probably hiding
            beneath your anxIety).
Or if that doesn’t work,
you could write it out and go somewhere else for a minute,
or, I guess, you could watch them as they read it
            (in that case, might I suggest you want
to be awkward?).
And if THAT don’t work,
well, shit, I can’t help you.
Get your weapon of choice
and refer to step two.

Cover photo by Mihai Surdu on Unsplash