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 Mar 2013 Forrest Eaglin
Redshift
(first of all
i'd like to inform you of the fact
that my mother didn't die
in an unfortunate way
although everything about her departure
was unfortunate
and before it's time
she didn't die of breast cancer
or in a car accident
or whatever
no,
she's one of the few
rare
breeds
that this earth has been blessed with...
she's one of the mothers
that
leave)

1. if you don't have a mom
you probably have come to the realization
that you are never going to have nice socks
or even clean ones
ever again

2. you probably don't eat a lot
if your mother was
the cooking type
you probably eat mostly
hungryman's
and hot pockets
also
you'll probably die
a premature death
because of it

3. if you don't have a mom
you will be suddenly aware of all the **** you leave
lying around
for like
months
and never touch
until you break your
******* face on it

4. you probably have discovered
that talking to your dad
about boys
usually isn't a good idea
it gives him
the strange urge
to grease up his
shotgun
make sure that's all
in fine working order
sit on porches
waiting
also
give total
crap advice
about all of it

5. if your mother has left you
you've probably realized
that you're looking for a new one
that suddenly
your friend's mom
takes over where she left off
like some sick network
but it's not really sick
sometimes it's kind of nice
you get soup an' ****
and those awkward
bonecrushing
usually choking
mom hugs

6. your dad
has probably tried learning to cook
he's probably almost
killed you
more times
than you can count
on two hands
but every once in a while
he hits gold
on total accident

7. if you're a motherless child
you probably do your own laundry
or wear the same clothes
for four months
until you drag
your sorry ***
to the laundry mat

8. if you're a motherless child
you've probably pondered the fact
that you sorta wanted both your parents at your future wedding
but you'd tell mom to *******
at the drop of a hat

9. if your mom left you
rather unconventionally
(thanks, 1960's. didn't do **** for me)
you probably
pretend a lot:
pretend to be ok with her
pretend to want to tell her about your life
painfully
so she can tell
all the million other single moms
who left their husbands
(sometimes for good reason)
that her kid is smart
although she hates your guts
oh well
it's the thought that counts
(wait...)

10. if your mom has abandoned you
you've probably sobbed a lot
hit a lot of walls
slammed a lot of doors
kicked a lot of ******* bookshelves
pounded floors
stifled screams into pillows
tossed
turned
flailed
plugged your ears
slit your arms
open
bit your fingernails
blamed it on your dad
once or twice
smashed your head onto hard stuff
trying to forget
that feeling
of wholeness
spent a lot of time
thinking
about home
and how it used to be
and then cut some more
if your mom has left you
robbed you
broken you
lied to you
spit on you
smacked you
discredited you
then you're probably
a lot like

me


oh

and the secret is

you don't survive
 Mar 2013 Forrest Eaglin
Redshift
i would steal
everyone's happiness
and not even really care
(well
maybe
a little)
if i could make you feel better
right now.
i would capture all the smiles
in a carved box
and release them
while i lay against you
praying that one
would embark upon
your lips
i would
contain every laugh
wind them into a long
ball of yarn
rest my head in your lap;
tie you up.
i'd
pluck the sun
from the sky
like a yellow
bouncing ball
and give it to you
to obey your every whim
i'd ****** the moon
from it's holder
shrink it in my washing machine
and hang it in the corner
of your bedroom
i would
tickle your chest
with my lips
rub your neck
stroke your forehead
in my lap
if only i could
make it better
but that's the one thing
i
cannot
do
 Mar 2013 Forrest Eaglin
Redshift
i should really
do something about this
(you)
but i don't have the heart
i'm not stupid
i know when i'm
being used
i know you're just
bored
inbetween
shy...
alright.
but another thing
i didn't realize
that should be
on that list
is
selfish
you're using me for a
laugh
to keep yourself
occupied
on the nights
when your only company
is me
and a bottle
of jack
i've got to put a
stop to this
it's not fair
i'm not getting
out of you
what you're getting
out of me
it's quite a paradox
that i can be so intelligent
and yet so stupid
i like it while it lasts
but when you move on
i'll still be back here
just laughing
by myself
now
well
at least i'll still be
laughing

maybe
 Mar 2013 Forrest Eaglin
Redshift
to be
or not to be
yep
that's the question
are we going to be
iphone-addicted
family-court riddled
cutting
drinking
drug addicts
forever
when do we
grow up?
what is
growing up
if we stay the same
how is it
'growing up'
we have deemed it
obsolete
there is no
growing
we are we
you are we
he is we
she is we
and we are all together
i wonder what would happen
if i deleted my facebook
tossed my phone
in a lake
i'd probably
get sent to a shrink
though everyone sees a shrink
these days
can we just go back
to the 90's
please
i don't want my kids
to grow up
like all the little *******
running around today
they don't even play
they
sit on their *****
on their tablets
i dunno about you
but i'm gonna go
little house on the prairie
on dat ****
we're only gonna watch
reruns
of chip 'n dale
rescue ******* rangers
the old disney channel
and read little house on the
*******
prairie
and ******* eat popsicles
not ***** lollipops
what the ****
is wrong
with people
 Mar 2013 Forrest Eaglin
Redshift
i just
charged my old phone
my first phone
i got when i was 18
the phone that i didn't have long
before my mother
cut off our account
after she'd left

and on that phone
are hundreds of old
messages
from family
friends
me
pictures
oh god
pictures
of the old room in my sisters house
pictures of the packed truck
that me and my sister
and my dad
were shoved into
a picture of the sheriff's car
outside the window
of my sister's room
the sheriff
that stole our
family
no...
i guess that was
mom.

there are
pictures of a scrape i got on my arm
while moving dad's filing cabinet
into a house we didn't belong in
an innocent picture
meant to remember
the day
but somehow
over a year and a half
it's become obscene
in my eyes
cuts on my arm
are remembered
for different reasons now.

pictures of the one happy day
before we were forced to leave;
the waterfall.
the day before we left
i slipped
and fell into
the rushing rage
of that waterfall
almost drowned
but held on
to the ledge
i wonder why
i lost control
of everything
so suddenly

so many texts
of advice
from my eldest sister
we had to be so careful
how we talked to mom
so she would keep calling
so we could try and figure out
where she was
the absolute
crushing
engulfing
horror
of those summer days
slam into me
like a wrecking ball
today....

god...
will i ever
get over
the pain
 Feb 2013 Forrest Eaglin
Redshift
it's 3am
and you're drunk texting me
i have class
in five hours
why are you talking about goldfish?
stop telling me you love me
you don't love me when you're sober
i don't want your
drunk love

will you stop already?
seriously
i just told you i have to go to sleep...
stop calling me...
your slurred sweet nothings
mean exactly that
nothing
i love you
but stop
*******
me
up
i don't want your
drunk love
 Feb 2013 Forrest Eaglin
KM Jones
You got the whole ******* town in this war.

Look left, brake right.
It's nothing but coasted stop signs and run red lights.
Head on collisions. No casualties.
No worries, nothing open heart surgery can't fix.
Casual strolls have become grounds for catastrophic collapses.
Holey teeshirts. Newspaper clippings. The old business building. Top 40 radio.

Seriously, you even make  ******* i n g  pop songs depressing.

I string together old pieces of poetry to create the illusion that I still remember how to write.


The worst part is you didn't rob me of this...
Didn't take my heart and run...
I gave it to you.

And I don't ever want it back.
So it starts another day to get over.
I don't mind losing myself anymore.
Bathed in your invisible universe I fall.
I can't be here and break the million walls between us,
only thing left to do is suffer with ourselves.
What if we could touch down in a beautiful space you and I?
What if we could find our heads in between the drops of rain?
What if we could reach out over the endless galaxies
And cut open the heart of all our possibilities?
There you are at the tips of my fingers.
No way to pull back what my heart needs.
I can't help the empty that fills me up,
This world is not enough.
A thousand wishes are thrown into black.
Tell me could you feel the day when my heart collapsed?
From a distance I dreamed up the perfect
And still it's not enough to sustain me,
When every angle shows traces of suicide.
Maybe someday someway I pray perhaps
You'll feel my heart as it collapsed.
I was suffering long before you came
Just so happened you were suffering too.
I was dead before I knew I was dying
And now the grief sets in, my thoughts come out of hiding
As the people pass by, nod heads, close their eyes
Wishing they’d have been, the one to die
In the grave of self seeking lullabies
That softly lure us down to lie
And I look up above me to the clouds in the sky
As I’m lowered down they will stay so high
Away from this sorrowed soul and burdened heart
That soaked up the sin through the talent and art
Of thinking and feeling that consumed my life
Not in purpose or action but silence and strife

Am I living in my grave?
Why do I lie here in my grave?

It’s the dirt on my feet, I can’t see underneath
I am sick with sorrow in my black stained sheath
Can I pity myself more with flowers beside me
Am I comfortable yet, this is the opposite of free
Can consciousness be regained, to sit up under this tree
Notice the leaves and the beauty, that were grey so it seemed
Recognize and sympathize with feeling this numb
No one knows what its like to walk and to hum
Except the strong who have chosen to press
To fight and to run against the opposing forces
And when they reach their peace, in joy and hope
They reached the sky, of which I have only wrote
A line or two, only a line or two
Its something I’ve seen so rarely seen
from the grave I’m in, unsettled yet comfortable in
Looking at the clouds, that float above my sin

Am I living in my grave?
Why do I lie here in my grave?

When I have been placed here willingly I’ve been shown even more
With the make up they put on me and stories that bore
I was dead before I knew I was dying
And now the grief sets in, my thoughts come out of hiding
As the people pass by, nod heads, close their eyes
Wishing they’d have been, the one to die
In the grave of self seeking lullabies
That softly lure us down to lie
And I look up above me to the clouds in the sky
As I’m lowered down they will stay so high
I want to reach that height, can I please try
If I only had tried, revive me so I can try


To stand up in my grave, and to smash the stone
To stand in power and make it known
That I live in the power and might from the throne
Of the God of heaven who removes the stones
Who leaves us restless in our peaceful remorse
As I press and I struggle not for the sky but the cross
And I will fight for my life, fight for a life
With beauty and peace, where my sorrows will cease
Not a casket for living, waiting for death on a lease
I’m alive through a grave that brings me to shame
But lifts me up by the power of Jesus’ name
Why else would he die, we were meant to have life
But will I live it in my grave?
Or live it through his grace?
Am I living in my grave?
Hold me in your embrace.
Soak me with your grace.
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