TWO POEMS by KELLY RYAN
December 2 2025
Poem for Panic or Confusion
When I cry I make the bedtime hill for animals.
They curl into spots that seem comfortable
for them. Their eyes begin to close, opening
halfway, Their sleeping bodies make the hill
on which I name them. You’re Okay, you’re Okay,
you’re Okay– they’re all named Okay. Highways
bring decisions to the animals. The air
prepares outcomes for them using wind
before they’ve been disturbed. In other words,
they do not have the faculty of choice.
When I think of them, it is like tuning into a radio
I want to hug. I have to tell my friend
there is somber ambient music about life.
My only hope is that he’s patient.
Lab Partner
Inside your
Breathy throat
Beneath
Your jaw of honesty
You play with possibilities
Like you can crunch them.
I’m seeing it now–
The sports balls
We all knew
Meant dignity
And justice
Virtues coded
Into a pre-existing table
Like science.
It’s scary
To make ideas now
Because the more
Your heart weighs
The more spirit
Works its will
Through your arms.
Kelly Ryan writes poems and draws shapes to calm down.