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 Jan 2015 Jared Eli
AJ
It's not a physical regret.
Nothing physical to regret.

I let you do things that I don't like.
My back is all scraped up.
Because I am guilty
So I let you use me.
Because I let him use me.
Well, he didn't get to use me.
Nothing physical.

Nervous ticks and cigarette smoke.
Empty hotel rooms,
Waiting for my phone to light up.
To go off.
To make a sound.
Nothing physical.

I'm sorry I 'm so good looking.
And that I'll please anyone
Who caters to my needs
And gives me constant compliments.
Too bad it wasn't physical.
Just being young.
We are here
to have a good time,
not to have a long time;
however,
if it lasts a long time,
all the better.
Plan accordingly
but do not lose sight.
 Jan 2015 Jared Eli
Wanderer
Our relationship with the Earth
Can be defined by two choices
Parasitic or Symbiotic
We choose to be fleas
*Why not choose to be Pilot fish?
We can all live together harmoniously
Yet our first thought seems to always be immediate gratification
What can I get now?
Instead of what can I give now?
Loneliness is a taste of death
Here I am, dying,
without arms to expire in.
The house is silent, as I drift to sleep,
not eternally,
yet.
 Jan 2015 Jared Eli
Joshua Haines
She kissed me
not because
she wanted to
but because
she could.

We fell in
love.
Not because
we could
but because
we wanted to.

We made
mistakes.
Not because
we wanted to
but because
we could.

We thought
we were
perfect.
Not because
we could
but because
we wanted to.

I vomited in
the bathroom
of a
Baltimore
7-11
because
sometimes
you cannot
hold it in
much
longer.

Her hands shook
as she held her
mirror
because
sometimes
your reflection
can only
tell you
so much.

My body shook.
Her body stiff.
And when
the bodies
move
the hearts
stop.

She lied some.
I drank words.
The veins
in hands
are maps
to imagined
consciousness.

Really,
it's just
a
*******
*****.

Music to
my ears.
Nervousness
between
blinks.
Noise to
my brain.

She said,
"I love you"
not because
she wanted to
but because
she could.

I said,
"I love you, too,"
not because
I could
but because
I wanted to.
 Jan 2015 Jared Eli
Morgan
You want me to let you in?
To call off the guards?
To let down the walls?
You,
So passionately,
want me to
stop fighting

so I will.



I will fall violently,
unadulteratedly
& freely
in love with you.

Just like you want me to.

And you'll lie in my bed all day,
while I try on eight different
dresses for my cousin's wedding

And when you leave,
I'll watch my skin shrink
as I lie
paralyzed
in my bathtub,
day dreaming
about the two small freckles
under the left corner
of your bottom lip

And the first time we argue
& you spend three whole days
angrily ignoring my calls,
I'll chain smoke
until my throat burns

And when you
finally decide
to show up at my door
with a vanilla latte
and apologetic eyes,
I will melt
pathetically
into your collarbones
and all down your spine

And then we will sit
Indian style
across from each other
on my kitchen floor
& you'll tell me in
excruciating
detail all your past lovers'
infidelities and unkindnesses
that led you to fight with me

And that will be it

That will be
the exact moment
when I will know,
without a doubt
that I am
completely & entirely
******

And I will cry into
your neck,
knowing for sure
that from then on
even the most passive,
nonspecific
mention of your name
will make my stomach float up
into my chest
& jolt back down
into my abdomen
like I'm falling
from the highest point
on a roller coaster

And no amount of
poetry,
whiskey,
midnight drives,
nicotine,
house shows
or therapy
will make it stop
or even distract
my soul from it for
a ******* split second

Because
once I allow myself
to love,
I love until I break &
then I keep on loving
until I'm nothing

And I just don't know
if your conscience
is strong enough
to carry the weight
of my shattered heart

So...
tell me Hazel Eyes,
just how bad
you actually want me
to pick up that phone
When you first start dating  
All the imperfections and pet peeves  
Fly right out the proverbial window

You don't notice the way they  
Chew with their mouth open or  
Leave their tooth brushes by the sink
You don't notice how bad their oral hygiene is
And you convince yourself the  
Loud snores they make while you  
Lay wide awake are endearing

What you really don't notice is  
How short tempered they can be  
And how they can snap at you for simply  
Pointing out the clothes on the floor

Or how they don't communicate  
Their problems well

How they are flighty and accidentally  
Interrupt conversations

And you certainly don't notice how  
Unknowingly demeaning they can be  
Towards you at times  
How they can make you feel insignificant and  
Minuscule when they never meant to

But now I am seeing all these imperfections
Flaws found like a scratch lottery ticket
Each day scrapes off something new for
Me to win
Like the way they leave the tooth paste
On the counter
Or leave the gas on empty for me to fill

And each new day brings to light  
My own imperfections
The way my room is a mess till midnight
When I go through a mania period
Or that I whisper during movies
Letting slip what I think the possible
Endings could be
That I can hold a grudge like no other

How do relationships function
With all these imperfections?
Why would you deal with someone  
Who is so imperfect?

That’s the thing though
You aren’t “dealing” with that person
And if in some way you are then
You shouldn’t be in a relationship

You do not deal with love
You accept love
Talk to love
Try to help love

Your end goal is not to change and
Morph love into something
Unrecognizable  

No, your end goal is to
Grow together and talk things out
To never stop growing together
To be there for each other
And to be honest with love
Not to hide how you feel about
The constant chaos of the clothes
And the toothpaste leaking out of the tube

Do not hide from love
Or you will lose it
 Jan 2015 Jared Eli
Morgan
I know you're feeling like a failure,
starring at the white ceiling
of your pale bedroom for the
seventh night this week,
and I know you slept
through three
alarms this morning
you set last night with
constellations in your fingertips,

I know you tossed around
your satin sheets
holding back tears with
nothing but the notion that,
"hey tomorrow I'll start over"
and now you're wondering why
you ever trust your own intentions

Well I know you feel helpless
and you don't know anymore
if your life even serves a purpose

But I hope you get
some sleep tonight

and I hope that tomorrow morning
at seven AM, the sun creeps
through your curtains and lays
its warm palms into your eyelids

& I hope you sit up feeling calm
& unthreatened & you think
to yourself how peaceful
a walk might be,

and then I hope to god
you get out of your coffin
and slip into clothes
that make you feel small
but capable and cute
but powerful

And I hope you take that walk
and I hope the fresh air
feels good on your tired skin

and I hope you see someone
you used to love about a mile
up the road, and I hope instead
of glancing down at the pavement,
you look directly at him with
brave eyes and say "hello"
And I hope when he asks
how you've been,
you say "better"
And even if it's a lie
I hope you believe it

And I hope you smile
until your jaw aches
& you eat until you're full
And I hope you keep moving
even if the ground you walk on
is quick sand,

I hope you keep on moving
even if you don't know where
you're going,

I hope you find a reason to
greet the day,
even if
for now
it's nothing but a pretty new
sweater you want
the world to see you in
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