After three long years at this url, I have decided to give Nothing Rhymes with Orange an upgrade and its own address.

You can now find me at the link below. My old poems are on the new website and I will continue posting 3X a week.

Thank you!!!

Riley Welch

This blog has moved to arhymeaday.com or rrrileywwwelch.com

Disappeared

Things disappear sometimes and
not for reasons you
think but probably
just because the going gets tough sometimes.
So they have to move on.

11/17/2017
Riley Welch

PM

I forgot how to write

and I don't know why

how hard is it 

to spend all day

teaching kids to sound out words

but then you get home

to put a pen to paper

and fall asleep instead. 

I know "a" sounds like apple

and "k" needs to sound real short (snip snip)

and I know that pretend words can sound real, 

but the spelling is usually hit or miss. 

Then I sit down at home, 

and get ready to write

and forget all the letters I've ever heard. 

I think about how hard it would be to learn another language.

And learn all the sounds, and the ones that break the rules. Maybe I'm too old. 

Or maybe I'm not stubborn enough. 

Writing always felt like my nightly diary entry. 

My fresh breath of relief, 

but lately things haven't been coming together, 

maybe that's why I sometimes feel I can't breath. 

11/29/2017

Riley Welch

It's a Monday

I think I prefer a Tuesday to a Monday.
I'm back in the swing of it.
I'm not too exhausted.
It doesn't feel like a crushing end of the weekend.
It's working my way back through the week.
Slowly, slowly.
Digging my way there.

11/27/2017
Riley Welch

11/23

The rain clouds brought down wet memories,
of family gatherings that had passed.
I felt such a sadness in the pit of my stomach,
that I could not lift out and remove,
whether through old recipes
or silver jewelry
or old prada perfume.

11/23/2017
Riley Welch

6 Keys

The fog settle over the stadium lights,
in a way that made me miss high school football,
but not in a way that made me miss high school,
because,
adult life is more stressful,
but generally better.

This is mostly due to being able to eat whatever I want.

But the way the fog settled that night
reminded me of being 14,
and walking out onto the field for the first time.

"Are you nervous?"

"Yes"

"Good, you'll play better"

11/5/2017
Riley Welch

Hungry

My stomach is full of caffeinated coffee and anxiety,
and I get that one of those things,
I didn't consume.

But let me guarantee,
it is still there.

Lunch waits around the corner,
and my forgotten breakfast
was not enough.

11/1/2017
Riley Welch

Monday Blues

Today I had the Monday blues,

different than the one that comes on a Sunday. 

This one felt long and trudging. 

This one felt cold and stagnant. 

Tuesday’s aren’t meant to be better. 

But maybe this one will. 

Riley Welch

1005

I just couldn’t sleep.
Everything seemed incorrect.
But light would come soon.

10/27/2017
Riley Welch

Sleepy Wednesday

usually the sleepiness comes on a monday
but
today
it comes
slow and steady
as sleep does
catching me while i work
and while i write
and while i cook
hoping tomorrow
maybe
maybe
i could have five more minutes

Riley Welch
10/25/2017

mstms

This sleepy Monday came to soon.
Both stressed and underprepared.
Thursdays seem so much nicer.
They are close to the end.

But I've made sure not to wish my weeks away,
they are still valuable for now.

10/23/2017
Riley Welch

Fall

The air was still when I left my house,
but 15 minutes later,
the leaves threatened my ankles.
I think this meant it was fall,
though I did not yet feel ready to let go of summer.
Something about bundling up wasn't what I wanted just yet.
Would this mean I would gain a thick layer of winter fat?
That wasn't really what I wanted.
Do hot beverages even keep you warm?
I don't have a fireplace. 

10/15/2017
Riley Welch

After a long week of feeling both mentally and physically exhausted, I will resume poetry posting on Saturday. 

The last few days I've been attending a conference for all AmeriCorps members in the state of Colorado. I greatly enjoyed the content of my two days in Denver, but often left the presentations feeling tired and unable to turn off the thoughts in my head. Usually this is good for my writing, but I found this time it was not. There are many benefits to the non-profit sector -- mainly that you get to participate in meaningful work. But occasionally, thinking of all the need present within our communities, outside of our communities and in the world leaves me depleted.

When you look at the big picture, it can sometimes feel like there is always more that can be done, and never enough people to do it. And that just you as one person can only have so much impact. 

---

Even with that, this week sparked many productive conversations with my friends, my fellow AmeriCorps members and my loved ones about ways we can better our own small piece of this world. Whether it is through direct service and action, difficult conversations, education or just being a little bit nicer, bettering your slice of the pie will sometimes be all you can do. 

I know this isn't poetic, but I felt I needed to express this feeling, and because I have had a few days without content, I thought this would be the best place for it. 

I know that everyone makes an impact on their world in some way and I don't need reassurance that I do, I simply had to turn thoughts into something more tangible. 

Have

Have you seen the mail today?
I couldn't find it.
I think I was waiting on a check.
Yesterday or the day before,
I created all I could.
I was left exhausted.
So I forgot what I was doing.
Man,
everything seems lost.

10/9/2017
Riley Welch

2 Miles

It was late at night,
when the sun first spoke to me.
I heard she might be coming back,
but this felt like a cruel tale.
I missed her warmth, but will admit,
I felt the dark sky held a certain comfort.
Not knowing who to believe,
I waited until dawn.

Riley Welch
10/9/2017

DR

A rainy day

brought the biggest laziness

and I couldn't hold

it in, as you chuckled

through the strained

pages of "Anne".

9/28/2017
Riley Welch

1818

Today's the first day
and I'll try to do "better".
The mountain air has
dried me out
and I miss the
warm sweet
kiss of a Texas summer.
The wind blew cold tonight,
and I finally remembered
my home.
She felt the same
and maybe I felt
a bit changed.

9/19/2017
Riley Welch

SA

Sometimes I can't think straight.
Or I can, but it's too rapid fire to make sense of --
usually this is when it is
hurt or
angry or
especially sad
and sometimes when it is incredibly confused.

And all of that is what washes over me.

Riley Welch
10/2/2017

tx

I drove down Colorado, over New Mexico,
and into the top of Texas.
And back.
In 12 short hours.
I rested my hands on my soft stomach
and let the glasses shield my eyes
waved at every cow
saw the pink-lit mountains at sunrise
I missed a lot of things,
and was content with much.
I spent most of my time tired,
but tried to also see it as fulfilled.

9/30/2017
Riley Welch

Sleepy

It's a sleepy Wednesday,
and boy am I so tired.
I can't seem to keep the sand away,
I'll lie outside for hours.

9/27/2017
Riley Welch