Brief

Emotions are wet

They are sticky and messy

And they don't stay and

They smear themselves down the side of your face

And they run their fingertips along your brain

And they leave you dripping

Messy

Wet sloshed tears running sticky with mucus and dancing down muddled puddles resting at the tip of your nose and chin

Grimy sweat wading along creases in skin

And pooling in damp wrecked habitats

Feeling too much

All at once. 

Emotionless means dry. 

Means very clean cut. 

Means no movement. 

Means no mess. 

Means in the moment there will be no immediate pain or discomfort. 

Because everything will be very neat, 

Very straight. 

Very right. 

Maybe not interesting. 

Or unique. 

But it won't be muddled.

And it won't be messy.

12/23/2014

Riley Welch

Favorite Fridays

The Loser

BY: SHEL SILVERSTEIN

Mama said I'd lose my head
if it wasn't fastened on.
Today I guess it wasn't
'cause while playing with my cousin
it fell off and rolled away
and now it's gone.

And I can't look for it
'cause my eyes are in it,
and I can't call to it
'cause my mouth is on it
(couldn't hear me anyway
'cause my ears are on it),
can't even think about it
'cause my brain is in it.
So I guess I'll sit down
on this rock
and rest for just a minute...

TBird

I've got this thin layer of cellophane

Stretched across my vision. 

Not skewing what I see 

But giving a veil between me and reality.

Like everything I touch sticks with a thin film. 

And I can't necessarily discern what is real. 

Ever trusting and believing. 

Without doubt - never fleeting. 

And if this veil will ever lift. 

I'll feel wide awake.

But today is not that day 

So I'll stay hidden under this thin meshed curtain

Drawing tight the corners of reality

Around all I encounter.
Eagerly.

12/21/2014
Riley Welch

(Thoughts of the day)

And I feel so much lighter. 

I laugh so much faster,

Easier. 

I look for light in everything. 

To counteract

Heavy thoughts. 

But maybe my thoughts aren't so heavy anymore. 

Maybe they lost their weight. 

And with that some worth. 

And that is okay with me. 

12/15/2014

Riley Welch 

Lack of Lighting

A black and white dark wash over a room

Removes color

And makes it dry

And void

And gray dust settles over all the surfaces 

Painting it fair shades

Many

Many

Many

So no one can tell

What is what. 

Within the gray. 

Of the dimly lit room. 

12/19/2014

Riley Welch

Favorite Fridays

I find this weeks poem especially beautiful. The author has asked to remain anonymous. 

I Wouldn’t Know

Is this madness? Is this the sickness they warned me against?

The everlasting search for something magnificently real in this seemingly false world

The words become a blur and the voices cease to exist in this endless maze of never knowing.

Never knowing

If everyone is merely masquerading or if I have become insane

Trapped in this hideous cycle that is human nature, always greedy for something more

Always succumbing to roaring emotions as all sense fades away

Yet in the midst of this swirling confusion, the routine continues

The paperboy completes his route 

The professors teach their lessons 

The students try to get ahead

Tell me, am I mad?

I wouldn't know. 

POEMS FOR COFFEE

This poem is dedicated to my good friend Kevin, who I offered to write a poem for in exchange for coffee during finals week. 

Kevin He, oh, Kevin He
A sweet melodic melody
Of sunshine, spring, and all things sweet

To bring the center of my addiction
Caffeines love is no work of fiction
He'll arrive "in a bit" was his prediction

Poor, poor finals bury him whole
In study, papers - a true book mole
Someone needs to work literary crowd control

But this boy, oh boy, he'll ace those finals
His professors are in great denial
Of his brilliance, no one rivals

And when he crashes through those doors
Coffee in hand, I don't abhor
Like a sweet beverage fairy lore

A great motivator to motor through those words
He'll herd knowledge like a flock of birds
The line between him and genius is blurred

So as I finish these words and wait for my mug
Of sweet, brewed nectar you sip - don't chug
From the smartest dude at UT, Kevin He, what up.

12/10/2014
Riley Welch