I nearly cried today

Fiona Daley

I nearly cried today more than once

I may have cried in my mind constantly

“weakened sensibilities” from three hours of sleep and the weight of inconsequence

I nearly cried today when everyone was laughing

dances in the air like hammers on my eyes

and why? Because no one was serious. Should I have laughed at my isolation?

I nearly cried today when I tried to say a thought

and it came out all wrong, watered down and salty, not sweet

like I should be, like I wish you’d be

is what I was going to say

I nearly cried or maybe I did when I thought of words to sting with

they stung you so bad in my head I felt it too,

intend for you but here I am

the one crying

I nearly cried today at the end of a table

on the edge in more ways than the seats surrounding a conversation

like a blank sheet of paper

I nearly cried at paper cuts

cause I’ve got a pen

but I was the one bleeding off the page

I nearly cried today when she touched my arm, warm tones tugging out a tear or two

with words like how are you? Tell me how you’ve been

and I only could come up with nothing

I nearly cried today at beautiful melodies

a man made fly off paper

lauded and loved for his brilliance

shining on in the audience’s eyes

I think I cried a little when she offered me a ride

it’s like we all cried through small smiles and soft voices

making jokes no one gets, just once not noticed for mistakes

and aches and watery, bloodshot, rose-tinted white space, headlights on bright

I’d like to cry when they say we see the world skewed

when that’s all they see maybe

if they found release in a speck of boiling dread

I’d dread a little less

and maybe nearly cry a little less too.

Kat Young

Biography: I enjoy experimenting across mediums, including photography, animation, and both physical and digital drawing/painting.

Artist Statement: The idea behind this work is that when you envision failure for your future, you are unknowingly attracting said failure. The use of braids surrounding the subject represents holding yourself back and fighting against your own restrictions.

Fiona Daley

Biography: Fiona’s love for art came from her upbringing in the harsh Montana Rockies. Growing up an avid reader and self-taught artist—words, colors, lines, and melodies gave her a larger world to reside in than that of her small hometown. Her work is rooted in memoir and humanism, exploring her unique life-experiences as well as our shared humanity, by which she hopes to ease the isolation of this day and age.

Artist Statement: This piece is made of many scenes — glances into the life of a young person trying to hold their own value and validity in a world that values apathy and distraction.