What Does the Hemlock Know?

What does the lovely hemlock say
Amid Mid-Summer's storms
Prevalent and principled
Exists as if the norm
To be so terribly poisonous
And feared in stories old.

Yet with every summer
In each pasture, roadside fence
The hemlock thrives among
Those side by side with whom
Do not even think of it
Just browsing 'round they roam.

Now mid-summer suddenly sees
Hemlock dry and brown
Amid a rainy summer
It prepares for early fall.

"What does the hemlock know", I say
"Why is it leaving now?"
A wise and fearsome plant it is
And yet it's gone away.

-Kelly Voelker

Poetic Ambition

I woke up from a troubling night
Unwanted rhythms and unwanted senses
Insisted on telling me things which were extra
Nothing I needed to know or act on
Just a jazz jumble all the way to dawn.

This morning I decided to wake up from this fog
Looking at sunrise from the couch lit me up
Wanting to create and make herbal salve
Wanting to eat a big breakfast out in public
Being with neighbors and whomever is there
Sharing a moment of soul food and care

Now as a poet and psychic in One
I want a small practice to occupy and run
A storefront open to heal much of what
Torments and hinders those who would want
Freedom and peacefulness not obstacles
Hidden and posing as "should" and "should of's"

I want to be as important and seen as a
Lawyer or accountant or hairstylist place
Offering deep seeded answers today
With no tools needed just grace and a chair
Who would be bold and who would turn cheek
At such a pure calling to help others on the street?

-Kelly Voelker