Cow Parsnip
Heracleum maximum
What cows?
asked the elk
Contemplating the tender green
the fat ribbed pod
It swelled
day after day
And cracked open
an umbrella against the sun
White bouquet
prairie nosegay
Then came the bees
Susan Whitney for Zumwalt Prairie Cache
Poison Oak
I am in love with you
I know you’re not for me
Glossy, shimmering in the grass
Your bright greenness
Already in spring edged with maroon
You’re wearing the tiny green berries
Clumps gregarious
Clumps along the trail
Under the oaks
Up the hill
Between the rocks even
and then again
In the fall you are brilliant
The deepest deep maroons that make
Me long to hold
You as bouquet
Take home
Admire
But wait
There is something we know about you
We’ve been told
We’ve read the interviews
Q. When did you first realize you had such power?
A. I’ve known since I was a seed, I felt it in my roots
It’s in my very oils
And some, they say
Eat you, delicious they say
Your young shoots in spring
A regime of increasing doses
until they are immune
And can walk through your communities unafraid
But I prefer to believe what I have heard
What I have learned through pain
I admire you and hope to remain
Unrequited
Susan Whitney for Zumwalt Poetry Cache
