Say Stop. Keep your lips pressed together after you say the p: (soon they’ll try to pry your breath out—) — Whisper it three times in a row: Stop Stop Stop In a hospital bed like a curled-up fish, someone’s gulping at air— How should you apply your breath? — List all of the people you would like to stop. Who offers love, who terror— Write Stop. Put a period at the end. Decide if it’s a kiss or a bullet.