Lynchpins | R.L. Selden

On Eraserhead.

Parenthood: Horror. New chickens oozing onto the table. Secret pregnancy. The constant screaming of deformed body. A woman singing in the radiator. Guilt and fear building in the throat. Eraser shavings. A pair of scissors cutting the swaddling exposing lungs, liver, heart. When Henry plunged the scissors into the lungs to stop the crying, I understood. Could I ever be a parent? I feel unqualified.

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RL Selden is a writer, educator, and coffee enthusiast. His work attempts to confront the absurdity of post-millennial life. His nonfiction is forthcoming in Rejection Letters. He writes, teaches, and lives in Wilmington, NC.