Sadness

If someone clever
Slipped away to play
And I was left with no direction
No idea could come to pass
With sadness, sadness holding fast
Weighing down my face and eyes
Some well meaning souls
Offer to take me along
For entertainment or storage
But I too sad to accept or
To numb and bereft
Feel my joyfulness was spent
On love and aspirations went
Leave me to the woods and leaves
To retreat and replenish with greater speed.

-Kelly Voelker

*bereft - to be deprived of something
**replenish - fill or build up again

Leavened Dread

 I fear once again the nature of my optimism

Kept in this petri dish study

Will inflate as leavening

Fed by the slightest bit of sweetness

Raising a mass of simple ingredients 

Towards the goal of something 

Which could be enjoyed by all

Yet inevitably gets punched down

To the same level from which it started

That same chronic level of Spartan compliance

Baked into commercial goods

Shunned by artisans 

Who starve in their isolation

By way of insisting on finer and finer 

Focus to delight those imagined few

Who might notice or care

An audience of one or two fair

Resulting in sarcasm

Unwilling to entertain or dare.

-Kelly Voelker

What is Humble?

Humble, as an attribute,
Stands quietly in the distance
As a familiar mountain range
Or the shape of a known landmark
Slightly ahead of
And bowing aside
As others pass it steeped in pride.

Its balanced buoyancy
Keeps it calm
Acquired over time
A ballast of prime proofs
A chalice of found truths
Authentically derived
Offered without words
For all to drink from
If they would ask.

This sequence is key
To knowing the purity
Of the bare plain safety
Of the humble soul
As a lone tree offering
Shelter from competition
Peace from the heckling public
Rest for the weary newcomer
Who walks the Earth blind.

-Kelly Voelker

Productive Poise

She behaved and was punctual
Day in and day out
She prepared, preserved, planned and did
She reserved her opinions
Refrained from the crown
Refused to dream outside
As procedure surrounds
But the Buffalo was silent
The Raven was roost
The Ibis was wading and silent to boot
So where was the magic, the thrill and the loft?
Patient and waiting 'til systems produced
The useful whole offspring of planning and couth. 

-Kelly Voelker

*couth - good manners; refinement.

Autumn Grounding

The Raven was with her mind
As it floated o'er the tides
Inspiration waves and ebbs comprise
Still not landing
Where toil and thoughts blend
Laughter and profanity cackled aside
Her ease as she lowered
Descended and died.

-Kelly Voelker