Rainy Day Recess

Oh summer storm
Saturate my day
Adding flex to stay
Within this repose
Within this recess
I am hidden from
I belong within
This natural space
Thunder begins
Bringing to attention
All in range
To postpone actions
Plans and friends
Sheltered here
My clear pure place
The storm's umbrella
Under which we wait
As a time of respite
From ideas, fate
The timeline stops
Nature's orb of
Healing balance
In awe we witness
Sound and power
Replete in wonder
Grateful for
Inclusion in
Today's rhythm
Without within.

-Kelly Voelker

repose - a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility.
recess - a small space created by building part of a wall further back from the rest.
respite - a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant
replete - satisfied and relaxed

With Forces Unannounced

When a character in my life
Can't negotiate a new season
I must imagine a plot change
Now unimaginable to me

Could someone more interesting
More surprising and present
Take the place of a person
Whose story has worn itself out

The unknown value of all questions
Being that of those yet unmet
Who don't need to know the lines
Of the former or future role
But create it in present time
With me and all new talent

This new story created behind the scenes
Beyond what I understand, yet know
Weaves rainbows and sunny horizons
After storms of all sizes that blow
The prepared linear landscape
For changes erasing rows

Poetic and precise in detail
As the tiniest and broadest all are
Holding it all together
With forces unannounced
Yet powerful around and through
Each pinpoint micro cue

I trust and allow the genius
Of those I do not know now
To fill my future with  joy
With laughter and without ploy.

-Kelly Voelker

ploy - a cunning plan or action designed to turn a situation to one's own advantage

cue - a thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance.

Slight Flow through the Unknown

When the journey becomes long
Through the endless expanse
Look for the flow
The movement, it's branch
Follow the movement even if slight

As a river 'cross continents
Leads with direction
No doubts no worries
Just varied progression

The map through the unknown
Is flow and it's banks
Will show the way always
With patience and thanks.

-Kelly Voelker

Jewelry of the Dead

Small town cemetery
At peace on the hill
A parfait of deceased citizens
Are released here as fill
The granite and stone
Dispersed in varied colors
Shapes heights and tones
At night it is lit by
Stored sunlight
The jewelry of the dead
Reflects beauty
In its permanence
The anchor of families
Outlasting impertinence

As I roll slowly through
Or walk in between
The names of the people
I know and have known
Strumming comfortable
Familiar chords indicating
Everything is as it should be
Isn't it interesting, isn't it free?

The gushing peonies
Bloom and hang with spring rain
As I drive through here
Again and again
Looking for progress
In trees we have planted
Hoping for living landmarks
Increasing advantage over
Neglected and sinking
Markers in rows

I smile seeing names
Of kind relatives gone
Who loved me in hope
I would turn out alright
Their markers are witness
To my acknowledgement of
Their love and pure kindness
Which continues to glow

This hill has a sweetness
Of beauty and still
A lasting display of our
Ancestry mill
Nothing much matters
But names as they are
All seem quite similar
As an assembled stadium
Of citizens and families
Rooted here long
Some have dispersed
Visiting once

Someday I won't
Return here
Even in death
But my name is already
On my parent's red marker
Attesting to the best of what
Lives can dutifully muster

Let this poem be my lasting
Will and testament
Of an impression once rendered
By visiting often
This small town's collection
Of love and remembrance.

-Kelly Voelker

Washed Away Clean

At any time,
The tide can come in
Washing away
Every pattern and way
Every seed and word said
Feelings, desires
Washed away clean
Leaving a beautiful beach
To walk along nights
To stand on and look out
At all of the sights
Instead of looking down at your feet
Staring at patterns we drew in the heat.

-Kelly Voelker

Home Base of Gratitude

My name is Gratitude
Don't act like you don't know
Don't pretend I don't exist here
Or there or with all unknowns
I see things with a softer
Open relaxed breathe
I'm open honest grounded
The opposite of vexed*

You struggle with such effort
You think through all amends
You wonder what you'll do next
You worry, fret, pretend
This is not a war game
Or a complicated test

If you could see through my eyes
You'd see you're in your nest.
You're cared for, valued, healthy
The opposite of hexed

Now a part of binary
Spinning with no effort
You are the perfect combination
Of Earth and fine Ideals

You've awakened from your dream, dear
I'm the pillow under your head
I offer peace and free you
I'm the grateful state of home base
I'm the grateful state, I SEE you.

-Kelly Voelker

* vexed - 1. (of a problem or issue) difficult and much debated; problematic.

2.

annoyed, frustrated, or worried